Pre-hospital blood transfusions possible in Pasco County, giving patients fighting chance
LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - Minutes matter when you’re seriously hurt in an ambulance and in need of blood, but getting that blood quickly replaced doesn’t happen until you reach the hospital.
Pasco Fire Rescue said they knew something needed to change to help more people survive and recover.
What we know:
Technology is catching up to a basic need when you’re hurt and call 911.
Pasco Fire Rescue EMS supervisor Justin Crook said the agency’s pre-hospital blood transfusion kit helps paramedics and EMS supervisors administer blood, sending blood from a bag into a patient they’re treating at any scene.
It’s something they've never been able to do before.
Crook said they will be able to use the blood transfusion kits on trauma calls including car crashes, a fall, and pedestrians or bicyclists who were hit.
The point is to get blood to people when they need it instead of having to wait until they arrive at the hospital to receive a transfusion.
"We always knew that we needed it. And once the ball got rolling, and we could see that we could actually be one of the premier agencies in the Tampa Bay Area itself, to get going, once we built that momentum, the spark was kind of self-contained like a lightning storm," said Crook. "We could always give IV fluids and a medication called TXA (tranexamic acid) to help clot, but blood was always the missing component and factor."
Pasco Fire Rescue launched the program in mid-December. Now more than a month in, fire officials said they’ve used their kit on at least five patients.
"The data is there that shows that the quicker you get blood when you need it, the better off you are," said Chief Ryan Guynn of Pasco County Fire Rescue. "An individual that needs blood on an emergency scene waiting five to six minutes for that blood, the mortality rate increases by about 50%."
Dig deeper:
They’re seeing results with the program, and it not only means life or death. Having blood sooner can also change a person’s recovery.
READ: Smartwatch Health Alerts: Tampa cardiologist shares when to see a doctor
"It’s the difference between somebody, Chief Pollock has said, leaving in a wheelchair versus walking on their own with crutches after a major injury. If we can make that difference when time is of the essence, that’s all worthwhile," said Crook.
The agency partnered with Tampa General Hospital and OneBlood to bring the program to Pasco County.
"The blood itself is provided to us for free. So, they lend it to us for a couple of weeks. If we don’t use it, we give it back to them. If they don’t use it within a couple of weeks, it goes back into the hospitals," said Guynn.
What's next:
The gift of life is giving others a fighting chance, and it’s a vital, new change that will be needed everywhere.
Guynn said the program is expected to expand.
"We are one of the first in the Tampa Bay area, but we won’t be the last, right? The science has proven that we need to have this available on the streets in the back of an ambulance," said Guynn.
Pasco Fire Rescue said they will help replenish their blood supply with blood drives. They will host their first one on February 28th at Station 38 in Wesley Chapel beginning at 10 a.m.
Guynn said anyone who is willing and able to donate is welcome, and you will be able to tour the fire station and meet your local firefighters.
The Source: The information in this story came from interviews with Pasco County Fire Rescue gathered by FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo.