Blood Emergency Readiness Corps Activated to Respond to Extreme Weather in North Texas

Blood Emergency Readiness Corps was activated to send blood to Carter BloodCare, the blood provider for North Texas hospitals after severe storms hit the area.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, USA, June 3, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The national Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC) was activated to send needed blood to Carter BloodCare, the local blood provider for hospitals in and around North Texas, after severe storms passed through the area. Near the Texas/Oklahoma border, a tornado ripped through the area, killing at least seven people and injuring over 80.

Responding hospitals in Texas have secured all local O-negative blood inventory and require additional units to support patient needs. BERC responded by sending O-negative units to Carter BloodCare, which manages the local blood supply in that region of Texas.

The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps comprises blood centers nationwide committed to preparing for mass transfusion disasters by maintaining an emergency reserve of extra units, available immediately when disaster strikes.

"Our BERC Network was activated to help our partner blood center, Carter BloodCare, meet the needs of trauma patients at local hospitals in north Texas,” said Nelson Hellwig, CEO of the Alliance for Community Transfusion Services and Administrator of the BERC Program.

As part of their on-call week, the following community-based blood centers have rushed blood to the region: Blood Assurance, Bloodworks Northwest, Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank, Coastal Bend Blood Center, ConnectLife, LIFELINE Blood Services, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, MEDIC Regional Blood Center, Our Blood Institute, Solvita Blood Center and Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center.

“As part of BERC, Blood Assurance is working diligently with a number of other community blood centers to provide lifesaving products to hospital patients in north Texas,” said Garry Allison, Senior Vice President of Operations. “With the need for blood being so great at this time, we urge those in our own community to rise up, roll up a sleeve and be someone’s hero.”

Sunday’s activation marks the sixth time since its inception in September 2021 that the BERC Network has been called upon to provide blood during a national emergency. The last BERC activation was in June 2023 in response to a destructive and deadly tornado in Perryton, TX.

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About the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps
The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC), a collaborative effort of over 30 community blood centers, was founded in 2021 to meet immediate transfusion needs when faced with large scale emergency situations that require blood transfusions. These blood centers commit to collecting extra units on a rotating "on call" schedule to create an available supply of blood for emergency needs.

Jacklyn Chappell
Blood Emergency Readiness Corps
jacklyn.chappell@obi.org