Howard County to treat trauma patients with whole blood

In an effort to save lives, Howard County officials are expanding access to blood transfusions in the field to more quickly treat patients with traumatic injuries.Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services staff will undergo training to administer what’s called “whole blood” transfusions before patients go to the hospital. Whole blood refers to blood that has all the components needed for clotting — red cells, white cells, plasma and platelets — that can save the life of a person who is bleeding.| LINK: HCDFRS Whole Blood ProgramThe county will be the first in the state to implement such a program for EMS teams. Until now, EMS teams could only rush patients to the hospital. But having whole blood on hand can increase survival rates, county officials said.”While not every trauma patient will need a blood transfusion, the ability to provide whole blood to critical patients will increase their chances of survival even before they reach the hospital,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said.Howard County officials estimated some 50 to 75 traumatic patients per year could receive a whole blood transfusion.”With the Whole Blood Program, our EMS supervisors can replace the blood that patients have lost from traumatic injuries. I have no doubt that this will lead to better outcomes for our critically injured patients and increase the number of lives we can save,” Howard County Fire Chief Louis Winston said.From September 2022 to date, about 4,100 trauma patients in Howard County out of almost 20,000 total EMS patients were taken to the hospital. Two weeks ago, Maryland became the first state to carry whole blood on all state police helicopters. Some of the patients saved would not have survived had it not been for these transfusions, officials said.| RELATED: Maryland offers whole blood available statewide at traumatic events