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KCK Fire launches first ground-based pre-hospital whole-blood transfusion program in Kansas City metro
Summary
The Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department said it has begun carrying whole blood on ambulances to treat severe trauma on scene, calling the program a regional first and urging donors to support the effort.
The Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department announced it has launched a ground-based pre-hospital whole-blood transfusion program, the agency said, calling it a major milestone in regional emergency care.
A firefighter with the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department said the program will let crews bring hospital-level transfusion capability to patients before they reach an emergency department. "In essence, what we're able to do is to extend the medical, emergency room out to the streets of Kansas City, Kansas City, and beyond," the firefighter said.
Department officials described the clinical need the program addresses: some patients, such as major trauma victims, require whole blood immediately to survive. The firefighter said traditional volume-expanders such as dextrose or purified fluids do not carry oxygen to the brain and heart. "This precious, precious, commodity that can move oxygen around the body ... will now be at the fingertips of a paramedic," the firefighter said.
Officials described the rollout as an operational change that equips paramedics to begin lifesaving transfusions on scene; no votes, ordinances, or external approvals were recorded in the transcript. The department framed the program as dependent on an adequate blood supply and encouraged community donations to sustain it.
The department did not provide a timeline for how many units each ambulance will carry, which hospitals will supply the blood, or whether the program will be expanded countywide; those details were not specified in the recorded remarks.
