Zimbabwe's blood supplies are in a precarious position following post-election violence in Harare.
The National Blood Service Zimbabwe (NBSZ) said the military crackdown on protesters last week had affected its blood bank.
The military opened fire on protesters who had gathered after the poll. Six people were killed and many more injured - and a lot of blood was needed for the survivors.
"Following the political disturbances of last week, blood bank stock levels were negatively affected," said the NBSZ.
As post-election violence raged in the streets of Harare the blood bank suspended blood donations in the city.
Now the NBSZ has put out a call for more blood donations in order to boost supplies.
Esther Masunda, the public relations manager at the NBSZ, said the most sought-after blood was type O.
"It is only present in one out of 15 individuals. This means approximately 6.6% of the population has O-negative blood."
In the first half of the year, collections for blood group O constituted 55% of total collections, she said.
This month, the NBSZ has set a target of collecting more than 5,000 units of blood.
"Our annual blood collection target is to collect 87,000 units of blood. The target for August is 5,350 units. Should there be a rise in demand, the collections target is adjusted upward," said Masunda.
The NBSZ said: "We call upon all those who are healthy to visit our clinics and donate blood."..