Springfield, IL  (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – ImpactLife is on call this week with the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps to help out with areas affected by Hurricane Debby. The hurricane, which made landfall early Monday, brought high winds and heavy rain, leading to widespread cancellations of blood drives and missed donation appointments. To support hospitals in the affected region, blood providers across the U.S. who are on call for BERC this week are now shipping reserve supplies of blood components.

Members of BERC rotate into on call status once every three weeks, reserving units of type O-positive and type O-negative red blood cells for emergency release in a BERC activation.

Established in 2021, BERC was created to form an emergency blood reserve for sudden increases in demand due to events like natural disasters or mass casualty incidents. This week’s activation involves several community-based blood centers shipping blood components to ensure patient care continuity as SunCoast Blood Centers recover from the storm’s impact.

“We are grateful to our BERC partners and especially to the volunteer blood donors,” said Nelson Hellwig, BERC Administrator. This activation, the eighth since BERC’s inception, underscores the importance of having a sufficient supply of blood available in emergencies.