Wyoming Life Flight to carry whole blood
Air Methods subsidiary Wyoming Life Flight has announced that it now carries whole blood on its aircraft
The air ambulance operator will carry whole blood onboard both its helicopter (a Bell 407) and its fixed-wing aircraft (a Pilatus PC-12).
The addition is expected to offer a higher chance of survival for patients during their journey to hospital, compared with separated blood products. The onboard blood is expected to be especially useful in rural areas, where access to a blood bank may be limited.
Stephanie Smith, a Flight Nurse with Wyoming Life Flight, explained: “Whole blood is fantastic because it holds all of the blood components, such as white blood cells, platelets, plasma, and red blood cells. This is beneficial as many patients who need blood also need additional clotting factors, such as platelets, which are not available in plasma or red blood cells.”
Fellow Air Methods subsidiaries AirLife Utah and Black Hills Life Flight announced that they would carry whole blood on their own aircraft in September 2023.