AUSTIN, Texas — Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) said the blood from its new blood pilot program was used within 48 hours and thriving.
Even on a rainy day, Alex Border walked into the We Are Blood van and donated during this national blood shortage.
"It's not that big of a deterrent," said Border. "I have definitely had, like, friends and family who had to be picked up by emergency vehicles and transferred to hospitals."
It's a ride many of us never expect to take, but the program ATCEMS started in December is making it a more successful ride.
"The very first administration that we did was to a gunshot wound patient, and that was within the first 48 hours of putting the blood on the truck," said Captain Christa Stedman.
Stedman said during these first two months of the program, medics administered blood seven times. Stedman said 80% of the patients were trauma patients and the other 20% were medic patients.
"They review every single time we use it, and each one, you could see the patient's condition improving as you started," said Captain Stedman.
As of now, ATCEMS has two vehicles with one unit of blood each – the District Command truck in South-Central Austin and the Medical Officer truck in North-Central Austin.
Stedman said the goal is to have the life-saving measure on all seven district command trucks by the summer.
"Right now, the team is going through acquisition of the new equipment," said Stedman. "That equipment has to be really rigorously tested and then it has to be approved by the folks over at We are Blood."
Stedman said there are a lot of hands pushing this program forward.
"We are tremendously lucky that Austin-Travis County EMS have a great team of medical directors with the Office of the Chief Medical Officer," said Stedman.
Like Border, Stedman led by example and donated blood at the event on Monday.
They said rain or shine; We Are Blood is accepting appointments.
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