Miller-Keystone Blood Center seeking blood donations ahead of Hurricane Idalia

Officials at Miller-Keystone Blood Center Tuesday said that they are accepting blood donations to bolster blood supplies in preparation for Hurricane Idalia impacting Florida and the surrounding region in the next few days.

According to Rami Nemeh, chief operating officer of Miller-Keystone Blood Center, these preparations are being made as part of Miller-Keystone’s membership in the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps.

“BERC is a collaborative effort of more than 30 community blood centers across the United States,” Nemeh said. “The collaborative was founded in 2021 to meet immediate transfusion needs when faced with large-scale emergency situations that will likely require blood transfusions.”

“These blood centers, including Miller-Keystone Blood Center, are committed to collecting extra units of blood on a rotating schedule to create an available supply of blood products for emergency needs,” he continued, noting that this week Miller-Keystone is one of the collaborative’s “on-call” blood centers.

Miller-Keystone is asking for eligible blood donors to schedule an appointment at any of their donor center locations, including Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. Monika Wiegers, director of donor relations, noted that many blood donation deferral restrictions for travel were recently lifted by the FDA, so donors who were previously deferred may now be eligible to donate blood.

“We encourage anyone who is unsure of their current eligibility status to contact us at 800-B-A-DONOR (223-6667) and ask to speak with someone in donor Collections,” she added, confirming that the most up-to-date list of eligibility guidelines can also be found on the center’s website at GIVEaPINT.org.

“Whether it be to support the transfusion needs of our regional hospitals, or to bolster the efforts of other health care organizations across the country, blood donations are in urgent need at this time,” Nemeh concluded. “There is no substitute for blood – it can only come from the generosity of volunteer blood donors who roll up their sleeves to donate the gift of life.”

Individuals must be 16 years of age or older, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be feeling healthy to donate. They must not have donated in the past eight weeks with the exception being platelet donors who are eligible within eight days of a donation.

All donors must also provide valid identification. You can schedule a blood donation by calling 800-B-A-DONOR (223-6667), or visiting GIVEaPINT.org to schedule online.