PUEBLO, Colo. — A man who suffered near-fatal injuries in a motorcycle crash is reuniting with the AMR paramedics credited with saving his life through the administration of whole blood in the field.
John Mazanec was critically hurt Sept. 4, 2025, motorcycle ride home from work ended in a serious crash, KOAA reported. A Life360 crash alert on his phone notified his wife of the emergency. Responders say the pre-hospital blood transfusion helped keep him alive before he reached the hospital.
| WATCH NOW: Bringing whole blood to the front lines of EMS
Mazanec suffered two broken femurs, a shattered right knee, a missing bicep, a broken wrist, a broken nose and a traumatic brain injury.
AMR paramedics Audrey Nolen and John Trevino responded to the scene, where Nolen quickly recognized the extent of Mazanec’s injuries and requested a unit carrying whole blood from the north side of town.
“The second I got on scene, I was like, we’re gonna need blood,” Nolen said.
Paramedics stabilized Mazanec and prepared to administer whole blood upon its arrival, marking Nolen and Trevino’s first field transfusion and only the second in Pueblo.
“To see someone at literally that close to death, having the worst day of their life, and then you drop him off at the hospital, and you’re on to the next call,” Trevino said.
Mazanec received 13 units of blood. Dr. Thomas Herzog, trauma medical director at UCHealth Parkview, said giving whole blood in the field helps patients immediately by replacing blood components needed for oxygen delivery and clotting, not just fluid volume.
“Hemorrhagic shock, or bleeding to death, is the leading cause of death for people under the age of 45,” Herzog said in a statement. “Up to 40 percent of these deaths could be preventable with immediate transfusion. By bringing blood to the scene, we are giving patients a much better chance at survival. In Pueblo, patients like John can receive transfusions directly at the accident scene — a capability few EMS agencies nationwide can provide. This advancement represents a substantial benefit for our community.
AMR’s whole blood program took two years to launch and remains rare nationwide because of storage and warming challenges. Currently, less than 2% of EMS agencies nationwide have the capability to transfuse blood in the field, AMR said. Funded through the UCHealth Parkview Foundation and donations, the program has been used 26 times so far.
