By Bill Carey
EMS1
LEAGUE CITY, Texas — League City EMS has begun equipping its ambulances with whole blood supplies to improve the survival rates for patients with severe blood loss.
Lieutenant Blake Brazze stated that carrying whole blood, a first for any EMS service in Galveston County, is crucial for patients with major hemorrhages, Hoodline reported.
“Typically, when you go to the hospital, you will get one of those components separate,” Brazze said. “But the whole blood — hence the word ‘whole’ — has everything in it and that’s why it’s an advantage to our patients.”
The department’s current use of whole blood applies to the city’s primary response vehicle, with plans to equip all League City ambulances within the next two years.
“It is like a pilot program by having it in just our shift captain’s vehicle,” EMS Chief Nicole Smith said. “All of our medics have been trained, however, our captains are going to be the primary personnel to initiate that transfusion if a patient requires it.”
