CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Cabarrus County EMS crews are now equipped with a blood supply to give to trauma patients before they arrive at a hospital.
It’s part of a new program, which is the first in our area.
The game clock starts as soon as paramedics receive a trauma call and every second can make a difference and having blood makes a big difference.
“Absolutely, a game changer,” said Deputy Chief Kara Clarke. “For trauma patients, we call it the golden hour. So, we want to make sure that the patients are at definitive care within the hour of the traumatic incident, and in that hour, it is very important to receive blood or blood products, and now we can give that even sooner.”
Each supervisor will carry a hi-tech refrigerator on their trucks filled with blood bags.
The blood is then administered through a device, which resembles a gun, called LifeFlow Plus. The device can push a full unit of blood in just two minutes.
The refrigerated blood goes through a warming device, so it enters patients at a safe and comfortable temperature. It’s an incredibly fast process for an EMS setting.
“It does take us about 13 to 15 minutes, depending where you are in the county, to get to the hospital,” Clarke said. “Thirteen minutes doesn’t sound like a very long time, but when you’re talking about mortality and somebody bleeding out, internally, that can make the difference between life and death.”
Cabarrus County is just one of 13 counties in the state with a pre-hospital blood program.
“In my 36 years of doing EMS, this was, this is a monumental, a big thing,” said Chief Jimmy Lentz, Cabarrus County EMS. “I really don’t know of one any better.”
The program rolled out one month ago, and it’s already made a difference.
“So far, we’ve been able to use it at a traffic accident, a gunshot victim as well as an industrial accident,” said Clarke.
The program improves vitals and morale for the crews tasked with saving lives every day.
“So, being able to see the crews give it successfully, and talk to the patients, talk to the family, and then having that second chance at life is really heartwarming to me,” Clarke said.
They will collect more data to track the lives impacted while the program continues.
The program is a combined effort between Cabarrus County EMS, Atrium Health Cabarrus, and the blood bank.
Blood is rotated regularly with the hospital blood bank, so it never goes to waste.
Behind the scenes: How OneBlood connects patients and donors
“The pre-hospital whole blood program really is a game changer in helping save patients’ lives,” said Kara Clarke, a representative from OneBlood. “Every second counts for a trauma patient. Their life is on the line and many times they are in need of blood transfusions.”
So how does OneBlood get enough supply to make a difference?
“It is so crucial that people make blood donation a habit because this program is only successful if you have enough O positive donors coming through the door,” Clarke said.
The success of the program depends heavily on regular blood donations, especially from O positive donors, who make up 38% of the population.
In the video above, see how OneBlood is partnering with EMS and hospitals to provide O positive whole blood for transfusions in the field.
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