The Prehospital Blood Transfusion Coalition is celebrating a big milestone: There are now over 400 9-1-1 ground emergency medical services (EMS) nationwide that carry blood products to the scene of life-threatening bleeding.

A simple solution to a serious problem: bleeding to death

Over 10,000 Americans die every year from severe blood loss within minutes. Blood loss – or hemorrhage – is the leading cause of preventable death among those suffering traumatic injuries. Nearly half of these patients die before reaching the hospital. Beyond those seriously injured patients, severe bleeding is also a concern for those experiencing post-partum hemorrhage, gastrointestinal bleeding, and more.

Despite years of hard-won military and civilian evidence and rigorous trials showing the efficacy of prehospital blood transfusion, less than 3% of eligible agencies carry blood products. So why don’t all EMS agencies in the United States carry blood?

According to Jon Krohmer, M.D., the Chair of the Coalition and an EMS physician, the answer mainly comes down to funding and logistics. It’s expensive to implement and maintain a prehospital blood program, especially since the cost of blood products is not reimbursed by insurance. There is also a shortage of blood in the U.S. However, EMS agencies are committed to being good stewards of the blood supply by partnering with hospitals to rotate blood products before they expire.

Breaking down the barriers to prehospital blood

“Our goal is to remove the barriers that are preventing a simple solution to a serious problem,” Krohmer said. “We want to see blood transfusions offered by ground and air EMS systems across the country to ensure that every American can receive lifesaving care, regardless of where they live or how far they are from a hospital.”

The Coalition is helping to develop a proposal for EMS agencies to be reimbursed for blood transfusions by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as well as working on prehospital blood policy recommendations for Congress and state decision-makers.

Coalition members are actively working to educate EMS personnel, blood suppliers, health care communities, hospitals, and policymakers about the problem of preventable hemorrhage deaths, and the available solution of prehospital transfusion. This past April, the Coalition co-hosted the inaugural Economics of Prehospital Blood Conference in Washington, D.C. to bring together organisations and decision-makers to accelerate progress.

In 2016, approximately 5 ground EMS agencies carried blood products. Over the past few years, there has been an uptick in EMS programs successfully initiating blood programs as the need is recognised and best practices are shared.

“Though our work is far from over, this celebration of over 400 sites serves as a moment for us to recognise the hard work being done at all levels across the country,” Krohmer said. “We want to thank everyone who is advocating for more prehospital blood, from emergency medical professionals to doctors and nurses to industry experts and lawmakers – and most importantly to the survivors who are still here today because of this lifesaving intervention.”

About

The Prehospital Blood Transfusion Coalition is a grassroots national nonprofit composed of multidisciplinary experts from trauma and emergency medicine, emergency medical services, blood centers, technology, industry, research, and more.

To learn more about the work of the Prehospital Blood Transfusion Coalition, visit prehospitaltransfusion.org. To see if prehospital blood is available near you, visit their interactive map.

Points of Contact:

• Jon R Krohmer, MD; Chair — jrkrohmer@emsmd.net
• Randall Schaefer, NPN, RN; President — randi.schaefer@schaeferconsulting.net