DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines pilot program allowing paramedics to perform blood transfusions in the field is being credited with saving lives and changing how trauma care begins.
Launched in November, the program equips certain ambulances with blood and the tools needed to administer transfusions at the scene, KCCI reported.
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Des Moines Fire Department paramedic Coby Klocko saw the program’s impact firsthand on Feb. 19 after responding to a stabbing at Polk County’s Life Services Center.
Klocko said the victim was bleeding heavily and needed immediate care. Although he had only practiced field transfusions on training mannequins, he determined the situation required quick action.
Using the mobile blood transfusion system, Klocko began treatment before the victim reached the hospital. Doctors say that kind of early intervention can increase survival rates by about 30%.
“I have been in practice for approximately 15 years,” said Dr. Carlos Pelaez, Iowa Methodist Medical Center’s Trauma medical director. “This is the single most relevant change in trauma care in our city that I have seen since I started practicing trauma surgery.”
Klocko said having the blood and training was critical to the patient’s survival.
His decision to begin the transfusion in the field ultimately saved the man’s life and later gave him the chance to meet the patient he helped save.
