COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County first responders are unveiling a new lifesaving tool on Valentine’s Day.
It also happens to be National Donor Day.
The new tool? Fire crews will now carry blood products for emergency needs in Cobb County.
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Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell got a closer look at how the new program will help save more lives.
Members of the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services Department showed Newell their MedOps, or medical operations, vehicle.
When critically injured patients are loaded onto the unit, they won’t have to wait until they get to the hospital to access lifesaving supplies.
“We are going to be carrying two units of packed red blood cells and two units of plasma,” Alec Nichols, a Cobb County firefighter paramedic, told Channel 2 Action News.
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There are 15 specially-trained paramedics for Cobb County Fire and EMS who will be able to meet a life-saving need, right where it’s at.
“The quicker we can give blood to people who are losing blood, the better their chances are of survival,” Nick Adams, EMS Division Chief, said. “We are the first non-transport fire-based agency in the State of Georgia to do it.”
Onboard the MedOps vehicle, there are coolers with the blood products inside, and they’re geared up with the ability to send constant live updates about temperatures both inside and outside.
There’s also a coil inside to heat the blood as it passes through for when the blood is delivered to patients through an IV.
The pre-hospital blood transfusion has been years in the making because of the complexity of what it needs to function.
“Studies have shown that survivability has increased by 150% for people who receive blood products in the field and we are excited to start that initiative on Valentine’s Day,” Adams said.
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