Miller-Keystone Blood Center encourages donations following mass shootings in Maine

Miller-Keystone Blood Center is asking for blood donations should the need arise to supply blood for victims of the mass shooting in Maine that killed 18 people.

Officials said donations would help keep blood supplies ready and available if requested from the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps after the mass shooting. The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps is a group of more than 30 blood donation centers across the nation that prepares for emergencies or disasters where mass transfusions may be needed.

“The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps was founded in 2021 to meet immediate transfusion needs when faced with large-scale emergency situations that will likely require blood transfusions,” Miller-Keystone Blood Center Chief Operating Officer Rami Nemeh said, explaining these blood centers have committed to collecting extra units of blood on a rotating schedule to create an available supply of blood products for emergency needs.

While the Miller-Keystone Blood Center is not one of the blood centers actively on call to address potential blood needs related to last week’s mass shooting in Maine, Nemeh said the center has answered the call when Hurricane Idalia landed in Florida in August and when a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Texas in May 2022.

Monika Wiegers, the center’s director of donor relations, said the center is proud to be a member of the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps and is prepared to respond to the call whenever it is needed.

“However, we want to remind everyone that in our own community, we need approximately 350 blood donors every day to meet the transfusion needs of accident victims, cancer patients, premature babies and others requiring lifesaving transfusions at our regional hospitals,” she said.

Wiegers encouraged all eligible blood donors to schedule an appointment to donate, noting that the U.S. is the middle of the most critical national blood shortage in its history. She said that 25% of the population will require a blood transfusion at some point in their life.

“That means that every single one of us, someone we know or someone we love, will need blood,” she said. “People should not wait for a mass tragedy to occur to donate. They should commit to donating at least two times per year to help ensure blood is available whenever and wherever it is needed.”

Individuals can donate at blood center locations in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Pittston or in Bern Township at 2745A Leiscz’s Bridge Road. They can also search for a blood drive in their region by visiting GIVEaPINT.org.

In order to donate blood, individuals must be 16 years of age or older, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be feeling healthy; they must not have donated in the past eight weeks. All donors must also provide valid identification.