According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), trauma is the fourth leading cause of mortality in the United States, with more than 30% of trauma-related deaths due to massive blood loss. As an essential part of trauma care, blood transfusions are often carried out at trauma sites. When needed, Regional West's Air Link helicopter team has historically administered red blood cells to patients en route to the hospital.
While this program has saved lives, much research has been done over the years showing the benefit of transfusing plasma and platelets as well. The solution was to transfuse whole blood — which includes red blood cells, platelets, and plasma — instead of only red blood cells. Once the FDA determined that Type O whole blood was safe to use in trauma situations in the field, it granted approval for civilian medicine use just as it has been in military medicine for over a century.
There has been a paradigm shift all over the country and now Type O whole blood is the state of-the-art product to give to trauma patients before reaching the hospital. Going forward, Regional West Medical Center will carry whole blood on air ambulances. Researchers have long known that Type O whole blood was safe and effective for treating extreme blood loss after injury for patients of any blood type because Type O whole blood has been used for over a century by the U.
S. Military, dating back to World War I. Out of an abundance of caution, the U.
S. Food and Drug Administration.