Air Evac to carry blood supplies on flights in Indiana and Illinois
US HEMS service Air Evac Lifeteam has announced that red blood cells and platelets will now be carried onboard flights from its Evansville and Olney bases
The blood supplies will be provided through a partnership with the Deaconess Blood Bank and can be stored in the helicopter in special temperature-controlled coolers for up to 24 hours at a time. The coolers will contain one unit of O negative and positive red blood cells each, as well as units of both AB and A blood type platelets.
According to Flight Nurse Lacee Combs, speaking to Tristate Homepage, the new blood supplies effectively turn Air Evac flights into a ‘mobile intensive care unit’ which enables critical care to begin immediately.
“Before we had these products, we were only able to give normal saline, which is not optimal in trauma patients. And now we’re going to have blood on board, which will hopefully help the outcomes of our trauma patients and help with their survival,” she said.
Meanwhile in Florida, healthcare provider Health First announced that it will now carry ‘whole’ blood onboard its First Flight air ambulance helicopter in June 2022.