Kroger mass shooting activates US emergency blood reserve

COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (WMC) - The mass shooting at the Kroger grocery store in Collierville activated an urgent need for extra pints of blood after over a dozen victims were rushed to area hospitals Tuesday afternoon.

The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps says it responded to a call from blood supplier Vitalant rushing to ship boxes of red blood cells for trauma care.

This is the first time the new BERC network responded to a major blood emergency.

The blood was used to care for at least 12 of the victims.

The network hopes their assistance in the mass casualty will motivate more blood donations to save more lives.

“People who give blood are healers who want to see the maximum benefits come from their giving acts,” said John Armitage, MD, CEO of the Oklahoma Blood Institute. “BERC essentially supersizes their generosity beyond the patient impacts by helping to reduce injury consequences on the community and to boost positive results from the heroic efforts of first responders and medical teams.”

According to first responders, 15 people were injured in the shooting, including one woman who died.

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