Blood centers and donors help communities impacted by Hurricane Debby
Network of U.S. centers activated to meet urgent blood needs in Florida
The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC) was activated Monday, Aug. 5, in response to blood needs in Florida after the landfall of Hurricane Debby.
The current tropical storm system is forecast to bring heavy rain and flooding in parts of the Southeast, with a continued threat of flooding along the east coast of the United States.
BERC is a group of more than 30 blood centers across the United States, ready to respond following large-scale emergencies that deplete an impacted community’s blood supply.
Centers participate on a rotating cycle every three weeks. Those on call this week are:
- Blood Bank of Hawaii
- Houchin Community Blood Bank
- ImpactLife
- Inova Blood Donor Center
- LifeStream Blood Bank
- Marsh Regional Blood Center
- Mississippi Blood Services
- Northern California Community Blood Bank
- South Texas Blood & Tissue
- Stanford Blood Center
- Vitalant
- We Are Blood
Blood components shipped in Monday’s BERC activation will ensure Floridians’ patient care and transfusions continue as the state’s SunCoast Blood Centers recover.
Officials with Carter BloodCare — a founding BERC partner — urge eligible donors to support fellow Americans in need by giving at a neighborhood Carter BloodCare donor center or mobile blood drive.
It takes less than an hour to donate to save lives, though the need for blood is nonstop, especially type O negative. As the universal blood type, O negative can be used to treat any patient, regardless of individual blood type. It is also the only type used to help premature and unborn babies.
About Carter BloodCare
Carter BloodCare is an independent, community blood center providing transfusion resources to more than 200 medical facilities in 50-plus counties of North, Central and East Texas. The nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization is one of the largest blood programs in Texas, delivering more than 440,000 blood products annually to meet hospitals’ requirements for their patients. Services include collection, processing, specialized laboratory testing, storage and distribution of blood and blood products.
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