Harnett County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is proud to announce the launch of its Prehospital Whole Blood Program, becoming only the 17th agency in North Carolina to offer this life-saving intervention in the field.

The initiative aims to improve survival rates for patients experiencing severe blood loss by administering whole blood before hospital arrival. 

“This program is going to allow us to provide evidence-based treatment to our traumatic patients, anybody that's suffering from significant blood loss, and also some of our medical patients where there may be some internal bleeding and things like that,” explained Deputy Director of Harnett County Emergency Services Alex Belanovich.

The Prehospital Whole Blood Transfusion Program equips Harnett County EMS supervisors and paramedics with low-titer type O-positive whole blood, which contains red blood cells, plasma, platelets and clotting factors. This comprehensive blood product has been shown to significantly enhance patient outcomes when administered promptly.

Harnett County paramedics are trained to assess patients and administer whole blood transfusions in accordance with protocols established by Harnett County EMS Medical Direction. Providing whole blood in the prehospital setting has shown more effective resuscitation than traditional fluid methods, stabilizing patients before hospital transport.

“Our main goal is providing the best care for our patients and providing them with the best outcome possible. And the research and evidence shows that administering blood to these patients suffering from significant blood loss early increases their survivability rate [and] it shortens their length to stay at the hospital after the event,” added Belanovich. 

The program officially began today, May 16. To prepare, paramedics underwent comprehensive training, including hands-on simulations, clinical assessments and familiarization with the equipment and protocols to ensure the safe and effective administration of whole blood.