Peterson Health has expanded its Whole Blood program to bring the life-saving resource directly to the patient bedside in the Emergency Department. To accomplish this, the Peterson Health Board of Directors approved the purchase of a Blood Fridge that meets State and National requirements for safe blood storage. This new fridge now resides in one of the Trauma Bay’s within the Emergency Department, where Whole Blood is most often used within the hospital.
Peterson participates in the STRAC Whole Blood Program that was founded in 2017 as a research study at the Level 1 Trauma Centers in San Antonio. By bringing this life-saving resource to the Hill Country, Peterson Health is able to give Whole Blood to patients that qualify and are having life-threatening medical or traumatic hemorrhage, thus increasing chances of survival and best outcomes.
So what exactly is “Whole Blood”? In essence, it’s the Blood that comes directly out of our veins when we donate at blood drives. Typically, after we donate blood, the Blood centers will take our freshly donated blood and place it in a machine that separates the Blood into the components that make up our Blood (platelets, plasma, and red blood cells). Not all patients need Whole Blood so by doing this, it helps in that population. However, in the event of life-threatening hemorrhage, Whole Blood has proven to be best practice to save lives.
If you would like to learn more about the Whole Blood program, visit www.strac.org/blood.
To learn more about being a donor, please visit www.biobridgeglobal.org/donors/blood-donation/heroes-in-arms.