28 lifesaving donations collected at June 6 blood drive
WEST GROVE, Pa. – To mark a major milestone in regional trauma care, Medic 94 – Southern Chester County EMS (SCCEMS) and Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) celebrated the one-year anniversary of their innovative pre-hospital blood transfusion program with two community blood drives, both held on Friday, June 6.
In June 2024, Southern Chester County EMS partnered with BBD to become the third service in Pennsylvania to carry blood products on their advanced life support units. This partnership affords SCCEMS paramedics access to units of packed red blood cells that can be transfused to critically ill patients before they even arrive at the hospital.
To commemorate the first year of this lifesaving program, 28 units of blood were collected at the blood drives held at Medic94 and Avondale Fire Company. Two of those donations came from SCCEMS Chief of Operations Matt Collins, who rolled up his sleeve to donate double red cells. Collins has O positive blood, which is the type paramedics carry on ambulances.
“To date, we’ve used 18 units on 16 patients,” Collins said. “We’re using it more than we anticipated we would. We’re going to hold blood drives every month. It’s going right back to the community.”
At Medic 94, Southern Chester County EMS Chief Executive Officer Robert Hotchkiss made a point to thank Herr’s and ChristianaCare for their assistance in creating the pre-hospital blood transfusion program with Blood Bank of Delmarva.
“We’re one of only five EMS services in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania right now carrying blood,” Hotchkiss said. “We’re also the only Chester County-based paramedic unit carrying blood. It’s made a tremendous impact on the care our paramedics can give to patients who are critically ill and bleeding. Saline doesn’t carry nutrients or oxygen. With us being able to carry blood, we’re able to more thoroughly resuscitate patients who are bleeding due to trauma.”
Southern Chester County EMS remains the only service based in Chester County with the ability to administer blood transfusions to patients in the field, restoring the vital blood cells lost during a massive bleeding event and effectively keeping the patient out of shock until they reach definitive care in the hospital. Blood loss remains the leading cause of preventable death in trauma patients, and Southern Chester County EMS is proud to be among the 1% of emergency medical services nationwide who have taken steps to combat that metric by implementing a state-of-the-art, pre-hospital blood transfusion program.
Blood products are always a precious resource that is in short supply, but the summer months bring a spike in trauma cases and a drop in donations—making this an especially critical time to give. Southern Chester County EMS have committed to holding blood drives throughout the summer with BBD. Schedule your donation today at https://bit.ly/3ZH5PqL or please call 1-888-8-BLOOD-8.
