When seconds matter most, preparation is everything.
That belief sits at the heart of a major step forward for emergency care in Central Texas. We Are Blood and ATCEMS have reached a new milestone, announcing a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) Whole Blood Deployment Plan – an initiative that ensures whole blood can be rapidly deployed to the scene of a large-scale emergency, often within minutes of initial patient contact.
This collaboration didn’t happen overnight. Since 2019, ATCEMS has operated a nationally recognized Whole Blood Program, delivering hundreds of units of whole blood to critically injured patients in the field. But while that program transformed care for individual emergencies, this new plan addresses what happens when multiple lives are on the line at once.
A system built for scale, speed, and coordination.
“This plan is about getting the right care to the right patient at the right time, even under the most challenging circumstances,” said ATCEMS Chief Robert Luckritz. “We’ve spent years building a system that can deliver whole blood in the field for individual patients. This next step ensures that same level of care can be scaled quickly and effectively when multiple lives are on the line.”
The mass casualty incident protocol establishes a real-time coordination process between ATCEMS and We Are Blood. When an MCI occurs, ATCEMS immediately alerts We Are Blood with key information, like the nature of the incident, estimated need, and expected timeline. From there, We Are Blood’s teams assess available inventory, prepare units, and stage them for rapid distribution, tracking, and accountability by ATCEMS personnel, ensuring every unit is transfused safely and efficiently in a fast-moving, high-pressure environment.
While the system itself is designed for speed, its foundation is built on something slower and more deliberate: months of preparation.
Planning for this initiative began in fall 2025, followed by full-scale training exercises, including a major simulation in November to refine logistics, communication, and response timing. These exercises brought together teams from both organizations, reinforcing a shared commitment to readiness long before a crisis occurs.
In public safety, readiness isn’t optional; it’s essential.
“Strong emergency response depends on preparation long before a crisis occurs,” said Justine Garza, vice president of business development at We Are Blood. “Our long-standing partnership with Austin-Travis County EMS made developing this mass casualty response protocol a natural step, strengthening our ability to act quickly and, together, save lives across Central Texas when every second counts.”
It’s the kind of behind-the-scenes work most people will never see but will depend on in the moments that matter most.
“In public safety, we prepare for the moments we hope never come,” Luckritz said. “But if the unimaginable happens, this plan ensures we’re ready, with the training, support, and resources to give every patient a fighting chance.”
This new deployment plan ensures that we have a system in place to respond with speed, coordination, and lifesaving resources. But there’s one critical piece of this system that doesn’t come from protocols or training exercises.
It comes from the community.
The availability of whole blood during any emergency, especially large-scale ones, depends entirely on a stable, local blood supply. Every unit used in the field starts with a donor: someone who took the time to show up, roll up their sleeve, and give.
That means this plan doesn’t just belong to ATCEMS or We Are Blood. It belongs to everyone in our community.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your donation makes a difference beyond a single patient, this is your answer. You are part of a system built to respond when lives are on the line.
And when that moment comes, your donation could be there within minutes, making all the difference.
Schedule your appointment today: weareblood.org/donor