Inova Blood Donor Services Joins Nation’s First Emergency Blood Reserve

Falls Church, VA – Facing an increasingly unsteady blood supply, Inova Blood Donor Center has joined a first-in-the-nation partnership to prepare the Washington, DC area for emergency situations where blood needs are high.

The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC), is composed of over 26 blood centers from across the nation that have committed to collecting extra blood units on a rotating, “on-call” schedule. The extra blood products will be held in reserve for any critical-need scenario, like a mass shooting or natural disaster.

The nation’s blood centers have faced widespread blood shortages in recent months, creating a severely strained national safety net for mass traumas and other high casualty disasters. As the Washington, DC area’s primary blood supplier, Inova Blood Donor Center joined BERC to be proactive in its emergency planning.

“The ugly reality that COVID brought to blood collectors is a disturbing uncertainty and scarcity in the blood supply,” said Terri Craddock, Senior Director of Inova Blood Donor Services. “We are proud that our blood products will be part of the solution to the growing inventory problem nationwide and that our “on-call” supply of blood will fill the holes appearing in our national disaster response fabric. Alternatively, when disaster strikes, BERC will give us more confidence that the immediate transfusion needs can be met in the Washington, DC region

When faced with a mass-need event, Terri Craddock said, “Blood centers across the country have relied on pleas for additional blood resources. States that had extra blood on hand might send units, but there was nothing that a blood center could count on other than goodwill.” With BERC, partner blood centers will know exactly how much emergency blood is available and where it will come from.

If no emergency situation arises across the nation, donors and patients can rest assured the blood products will be returned to Inova Blood Donor Services’ general inventory, to be used for local blood needs.

To donate blood, donors can make an appointment by calling 1-866-BLOODSAVES (1-866-256-6372) or visiting inovablood.org.

Media Contact: Tracy Connell, 703-289-2087

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About Inova

Inova is Northern Virginia’s leading nonprofit healthcare provider. Our mission is to provide world-class healthcare – every time, every touch – to each person in every community we have the privilege to serve. Inova’s 20,000 team members provide more than two million patient visits each year through an integrated network of hospitals, primary and specialty care practices, emergency and urgent care centers, outpatient services and destination institutes. 

Inova’s five hospitals are consistently recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals and Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades for excellence in healthcare.

Inova is home to Northern Virginia’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Its hospitals have a total of 1,936 licensed beds. More information about Inova can be found at www.inova.org.

Inova Blood Donor Services plays a critical role in the region by supporting the majority of hospitals in the Washington, DC, region, including all Inova hospitals, with a safe and adequate blood supply for patients in the diverse community we serve.  To support the needs of the region, Inova Blood Donor Services must collect 200 units a day from generous blood, platelet, plasma and double red cell donors.

About BERC

The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps (BERC) was founded in 2021 to meet immediate transfusion needs when faced with a large-scale emergency situation that required blood transfusions.  To learn more and see a list of participating blood centers, visit bloodemergencyreadinesscorps.org.