GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. — The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office Paramedic Division has launched a whole blood transfusion program with the American Red Cross, Hurley Medical Center and the University of Michigan.
The program allows paramedic deputies to administer blood in the field to patients with life-threatening bleeding, including victims of major crashes, shootings and other severe trauma, WJRT reported.
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“We know that life-saving blood when an individual is uncontrollably bleeding can help prevent death and our partnership to get a unit of blood onto the paramedics units and with our EMS allows us to save lives in the field before folks even get to the hospital,” American Red Cross Michigan Region CEO Kelly King said. “As they’re being transported we can get that lifesaving blood to them.”
Providing blood in the field helps treat critical blood loss before a patient reaches the hospital. Paramedic deputies completed specialized training on transfusion policies, protocols and safety procedures.
The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office paramedic program has been in service since the late 1970s. It was a pilot program that came from the West Coast where licensed paramedics had a dual role as a police officer.
