The National Program founded by local leader and other blood center executives marks its first anniversary
Community blood centers across the U.S. align to provide mutual support in times of crisis Oklahoma Blood Institute, along with 32 blood centers across the United States, is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the nation’s first emergency blood reserve. Local physician Dr. John Armitage, president and CEO of Oklahoma Blood Institute, founded the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC) in 2021 in partnership with six other community blood centers to keep the national blood supply stocked during large-scale emergencies when blood needs are high, such as a mass-casualty event or natural disaster.
Prior to the founding of BERC, many local blood centers faced widespread blood shortages during COVID. The increasingly unsteady supply meant centers didn’t always have enough blood on their shelves when disaster struck. By creating BERC, Dr. Armitage and the other blood centers helped ensure blood would always be ready and available if needed, without delays and uncertainty.
“A healthy blood supply, especially during crisis, is critical to our public health system and to the health of our communities. This partnership helps connect people from across the country in a time of need, through a lifesaving gift,” said Dr. Armitage.
BERC has grown to 33 blood centers in 41 states since its inception. These centers have committed to reserving additional units of blood on a rotating, “on call” schedule. During a blood center’s on-call weeks, the additional blood units are held in reserve, ready to be shipped in response if a critical-need scenario should arise within the BERC network.
“Our members are committed to providing blood during emergencies not just within their own communities, but wherever a crisis might occur,” he said.
BERC activations are an essential element of crisis response Over the last 12 months, BERC was activated in response to the mass shootings in Collierville, Tennessee (Sept. 27, 2021); Oxford, Michigan (Dec. 1, 2021); and in Uvalde, Texas (May 26, 2022), and in response to widespread damage from tornadoes in Kentucky (Dec. 11, 2021). In each instance, blood units shipped by BERC members around the country helped supplement the local blood supply in the affected region. To learn more about BERC activations see www. bloodemergencyreadinesscorps. org/activations.
For additional information on the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps and its members, see www.bloodemergencyreadinesscorps.org.