CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services will now be able to give you a blood transfusion during medical emergencies before you ever get to the hospital.
The county announced the launch of its pre-hospital blood administration program on Tuesday, saying it would be able to bring lifesaving blood to patients directly.
“We often say seconds count in an emergency. This program gives those seconds back to the patient,” Fire Chief Eddie Robinson said. “When someone is critically injured, time is the difference between life and death. Now, our paramedics can bring next-level care right to the patient’s side.”
The blood program was made through a partnership between Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers.
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“Through a partnership with LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, CCFES paramedics can now administer blood in the field—an advanced capability typically limited to trauma centers," officials said in a statement. “Research shows each minute of delay in blood administration increases mortality by 11%, and locally, more than 50 trauma patients a year could benefit from this early intervention.”
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Cherokee County Fire & EMS said the program will help crews treat patients long before they reach a trauma center, meaning “that lifesaving interventions once limited to hospital settings are now available where they’re needed most: at the point of injury.”
There will be four blood drives hosted each year to help provide blood for the program, hosted by LifeSouth.
“Our focus is simple: give our citizens every possible chance to survive,” Robinson said. “By carrying blood in the field, we’re closing the gap between the scene and the trauma center.”
Chad Huff, Division Director of EMS for CCFES, said the initiative will let EMS crews treat hemorrhagic shock at the earliest possible point, even before a transport is on the move, or before it’s too late.
“It’s a true game changer for prehospital medicine,” Huff said. By placing blood products in the field, we’re giving our paramedics the tools to save lives that might otherwise be lost to preventable bleeding.”
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