Guilford EMS gains approval to bring whole blood to trauma victims at the scene

Guilford County Emergency Medical Services said Friday it has become one of fewer than 400 EMS agencies nationwide to implement a pre-hospital whole blood program in collaboration with the Cone Health Blood Bank.

Whole blood administration is utilized extensively in military medicine.

However, Guilford EMS cautioned that "not every trauma patient will require or qualify for whole blood."

The program enables Guilford EMS to expand its life-saving capabilities for critically injured patients by having specially trained paramedics administer whole blood to select critical trauma patients at the scene.

Until recently, EMS clinicians responding to a life-threatening hemorrhage have been generally limited to controlling the bleeding and transporting patients to a local trauma center.

With the launch of this program, Guilford EMS providers can now replace blood volume lost from traumatic injury.

"Trauma remains a leading cause of death for patients in Guilford County," said Hannah Muthersbaugh, the county's associate EMS chief medical officer.

"Field transfusion of whole blood slows the clock and gives our providers time to get these critical patients to a hospital."

Guilford EMS becomes the first large urban system in North Carolina with such a program.

To support this capability, Guilford EMS supervisor trucks have been modified to carry specialized coolers that maintain blood products at the temperatures required for safe field administration.

Jim Albright, the county's emergency services director, said the program is "about giving patients the best possible chance at survival, starting the moment we arrive on scene."

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