CSFD launches state’s first whole blood program to help with potentially life-saving transfusions
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- Patient care during an emergency is getting better in Colorado Springs. On Friday, the Colorado Springs Fire Department launched the state's first-ever whole blood program to help with transfusions before going to the hospital.
Leaders from the Colorado Springs Fire Department said every 48 hours a resident in the community needs help after losing a lot of blood. This new program will help ease that process before getting to the hospital. CSFD said this is the bridge needed for some patients to make it to emergency surgery.
"I've been in the system for 45 years and I have seen many of our patients bleed to death in the field because we could not get them to the hospital quick enough and get them into surgery quick enough," said Randy Royal Fire Chief of the Colorado Springs Fire Department.
Royal added that this new program will help increase the chance of survival rate by at least 40 percent.
"This is actually the closest in mimic to what you have right now for anybody. We are using this process to actually use this as a resuscitation fluid early in the process in people's injuries," said David Steinbruner, Chief Medical Officer for UCHealth.
UCHealth experts said in order for this to work, the whole blood transfusion must be done within the first 15-30 minutes after someone is injured.
"We have been using this in our Level 1 trauma center since 2020 and we recognize the benefits of giving this early on," added Steinbruner.
This new whole blood program will help people from two-years-old and up. The blood will be held in two coolers inside of smaller emergency vehicles.
"And these coolers will continuously keep and monitor blood at the right temperature so that we don't lose whole blood because it's a very precious and valuable product and we take that seriously," said Joey Buttenwieser, Lieutenant with Colorado Springs Fire Department.
Inside there's also a blood warmer tool to help make sure the blood is the correct temperature for a transfusion.
"I actually spent some time deployed in Iraq and we watched this as a walking blood bank. We actually took the blood from soldiers and gave it to our other soldiers and we watched them survive as a result, so we have taken those lessons that we have learned in the civilian world and applied them," added Steinbruner.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department will start training its crews on how to use this new tool by the end of April.
