From PERRYSBURG TOWNSHIP FIRE & EMS
Starting Sept. 1, Perrysburg Township Fire & EMS will have the capabilities to administer blood products in the field. PTFD will become the first in Wood County and the surrounding Toledo area to carry packed red blood cells and plasma to the point of injury. Perrysburg Township will be the sixth fire department in the state of Ohio to carry blood, joining more than 400 nationally.
This project has been in development for two years and took collaboration with multiple entities. The project was sponsored and funded by local businesses including: First Solar, Jones Hamilton, The KWEST Group, and Cardinal Aggregate.
According to the Prehospital Blood Transfusion Coalition, exsanguination (bleeding to death) remains the leading cause of preventable deaths among victims of trauma with nearly half of these patients dying in the prehospital setting. Prehospital blood resuscitation is also clinically indicated for selected patients who hemorrhage from medical conditions (e.g. post-partum hemorrhage, abdominal bleeds). Individuals requiring critical care in the field in many locations in the U.S. do not have access to prehospital blood transfusions due to reimbursement policies and scope of practice limitations.
For more information, visit www.prehspitatransfusion.org.
