JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Starting Wednesday night, Life Flight Jacksonville will carry blood products on board, the ambulance helicopter company announced.
“On every single patient flight, Life Flight One will now (have) two units each of O negative and O positive-packed red blood cells or PRBCs, along with two units of A plasma,” Life Flight said on Facebook. “These blood products will be given via the Belmont Buddy Light Infusion System that will warm the blood as it is administered.”
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Three of the biggest issues patients face when they’re involved in some kind of trauma are acidosis, hypothermia and hypovolemia, said officials with Life Flight, adding that now, they’ll be able to correct two of the three medical problems.
“Patients suffering from severe trauma and massive blood loss now have a fighting chance in the field here on the First Coast,” Life Flight said.
In the past year, the ambulance helicopter company also has been carrying tranexamic acid, known as TXA, which is used to promote clotting and hemostasis in patients suffering from acute traumatic shock and blood loss. And for the past several years, Life Flight has carried the CAT Tourniquet, which controls and stops the bleeding from an injured extremity.
Life Flight One will now be the only Air Medical Transport Team in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia carrying these life-saving products, the company said.