Versiti - EMS Prehospital Blood Initiative
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EMS Prehospital Blood Initiative

Blood on board. Hope on the way. Be the reason someone makes it home. Donate blood to save more lives in the event of an emergency.

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Your next blood donation could save a life at the scene of an emergency or in an ambulance before the hospital. That’s the power of prehospital blood.

Every unit of blood has a destination. With a prehospital blood transfusion, sometimes that destination is in the back of an ambulance, on the way to the emergency room, and just in the nick of time, as paramedics save a life close to home.

Prehospital blood can be the difference between life and death. Although all blood donations and blood transfusions are crucial, when blood needs to be transfused in a critical emergency, every second counts.

Because bleeding to death can occur rapidly, it makes sense that earlier blood transfusions (especially of type O whole blood, which can be given to patients of all blood types) will increase a critically injured patient’s chance of survival. A prehospital blood program prepares EMS teams for immediate, on-site blood transfusions.

People holding hands.

When you donate blood, you could directly save the life of your own, or a community member's:

  • Mom, dad, wife, husband, daughter, son, sister, brother, grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin
  • Friend, neighbor, teammate, coworker, congregation member
  • Teacher, coach, local business owner, other community leaders and helpers
  • A trauma victim in your own hometown

Donate blood to support the critical work of local EMS crews. Make a personal commitment to protect and care for family, friends and fellow community members who need to receive a blood transfusion before the hospital. Be the reason someone sees tomorrow.

Why is Prehospital Blood Important?

An accident scene.

A prehospital blood transfusion, administered by a trained first responders or Emergency Medical Service (EMS) personnel, is essential for patients with severe bleeding, as it saves lives and improves health outcomes. Rapid blood replacement helps prevent death from blood loss and extends the critical time window for effective treatment. Early blood transfusion can also reduce complications and improve survival rates for those patients with severe blood loss.

How Does Versiti Support EMS and Serve Local Patients?

Versiti’s EMS Prehospital Blood Initiative enables our local EMS crews to carry and administer blood in a prehospital setting in a compliant, safe and effective manner for critically injured patients. This initiative empowers EMS to save more lives through an early administration of blood near the point of injury.

“How can I help?” you might be asking. This kind of initiative it a community effort that takes teamwork and neighbor-to-neighbor care from blood donors like you, to provide consistent access to the strong blood supply that EMS crews – and our neighbors in need and their loved ones – are counting on.

The Impact of Prehospital Blood

  • Bleeding to death (aka hemorrhage or exsanguination) is the leading cause of preventable deaths among trauma victims. About half of trauma patients who die from bleeding do so before they ever reach a hospital.
  • Every minute counts. For each minute of delay in transfusion, patient mortality increases by 2%.
  • EMS is often first on the scene. Ground ambulances arrive faster and more often than air medical services, which can be delayed by weather or landing restrictions.
  • Beyond trauma, prehospital transfusions can also support OB hemorrhage, GI bleeding and other emergencies.

Prehospital Blood Facts and Statistics

Prehospital use of whole blood was associated with:

  • Less intense shock on arrival in the emergency department
  • Less mortality than a comparison group who received no prehospital transfusion
  • The cohort receiving blood was more severely injured than the comparison group

Civilian and battlefield studies show that early prehospital blood transfusion saves lives.

  • Civilian data reveals a greater than predicted survival with a 37% reduction in 30-day mortality when severely injured patients receive prehospital blood.
  • Among military patients, prehospital transfusion within minutes of injury was associated with significantly reduced 24-hour and 30-day mortality.

According to one National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study, using data from Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), of the over 42 thousand people who died as a result of trauma from a motor vehicle collision, about eighteen thousand were alive when EMS arrived at the scene. These are patients whose outcome could have been improved by more advanced prehospital care, including prehospital blood, and shifting transfusion closer to the point and time of injury.

Whole blood is preferred because it is simpler (one bag instead of three), keeps platelets active and provides balanced resuscitation.