By John Gittings
WiscNews
SAUK COUNTY, Wis. 鈥� On-site blood transfusions began for three Sauk County EMS services in May, and all three have already used the new emergency-care tool.
Dells-Delton EMS, Reedsburg Ambulance and Baraboo Area Fire and EMS District all partnered with Madison-based ImpactLife before summer began to receive blood for on-site transfusions prior to hospitalization. The three agencies each have administered emergency blood once this summer.
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鈥淏efore we had blood, if we came across a person who lost blood, our only real fix to that was to try to stop the bleeding with a medication or give IV fluids,鈥� Baraboo Area Fire and EMS Assistant Chief Mark Willer said, adding that an intravenous saline injection does not provide oxygen, whereas blood does.
Having on-site blood transfusion in Sauk County is particularly important because many area residents live a long way from hospitals and trauma centers, according to SSM EMS Director Aurora Lybeck, who said that the addition to Baraboo, Reedsburg and the Dells area has been 鈥済roundbreaking.鈥�
鈥淭here are a lot of urban places that are giving blood transfusions, but they have a much shorter time to transport, including Milwaukee,鈥� Lybeck said. 鈥淭he evidence tells us that there is so much more benefit (to on-site transfusions) when we have these prolonged transport times.鈥�
Baraboo gave its first on-site transfusion on July 29, Baraboo Area Fire and EMS District Chief Caleb Johnson said, after rescuing an individual with a reported leg injury after a 20-foot fall at Pewit鈥檚 Nest State Natural Area, located just west of the city.
The blood units are kept in the portable cooling units, which are stored in command vehicles for each agency, according to Willer. He said that a command staff member accompanies an ambulance to situations in which a transfusion could be necessary.
He and Reedsburg Ambulance Director Josh Kowalke both estimated that the services would perform roughly one transfusion a month, so each agency receives one-half liter of O-positive blood in that time. It must be used within a month of receiving it, according to Johnson, who added that it is discarded if not used in that time frame. O-type red blood cells are universal can be donated to anyone in an emergency.
After using the blood unit, which ranges from 450 to 500 milliliters, the agencies can immediately order another one and have it the next day. If a situation arose in which one agency did not have the blood or not enough, Johnson said that agency can contact one of the other two to step in with its supply.
鈥淲hile it鈥檚 not something we expect to use every day, having it available when it鈥檚 truly needed can make a huge difference,鈥� Kowalke said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something our team was really motivated to take on, and we鈥檙e proud to be offering this level of care in the field.鈥�
Lybeck and Chris Stahmer, who has directed the program for Reedsburg, are both members of Madison Emergency Physicians, a Madison-based private practice specializing in emergency care.
Most evidence supporting pre-hospital blood transfusions is from military branches, as situations requiring them have historically been more prevalent in such environments, according to Lybeck.
Johnson, Kowalke and Gavinski all worked with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services last year to get approval for the transfusions.
Sauk County EMS officials all said that the program鈥檚 nationwide popularity is increasing. Lybeck added that she hopes more rural and suburban paramedic services will adopt it in the coming years.
Dells-Delton Deputy Public Safety Director Dillon Gavinski, who oversees EMS, said his department performed its first on-site transfusion shortly after the partnership began in May, giving blood to someone who was injured in a car crash.
鈥淭his will hopefully be a relatively infrequent procedure, but it is definitely a life-saving intervention,鈥� Gavinski said.
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