Imagine…
It’s a typical day – driving home from work or running errands – when at an intersection, you are hit by an inattentive driver. Injuries are sustained and you lose consciousness. First responders work to stabilize you and provide a lifesaving whole blood transfusion to replace the blood you’ve lost.
Receiving this transfusion before ever getting to the hospital has significantly increased your chance of survival. It’s hard to think about what might have happened without that special blood transfusion.
Launching Our HERO+ Program
In 2019, We Are Blood began partnering with local EMS agencies so their paramedics could perform pre-hospital transfusions at the scene of an accident or en route to the hospital. Since then, hundreds of local patients have received lifesaving pre-hospital transfusions of O Positive Low Titer whole blood thanks to our HERO+ Program. However, the program is solely dependent on the generosity and commitment of O Positive whole blood donors at We Are Blood.
Low Titer O Positive whole blood is a complete blood product containing red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. This unique combination ensures that trauma patients get the blood components they need all at once. Low Titer O Positive whole blood must be specially tested for levels of specific antibodies. This screening makes it safe for transfusion to patients of different blood types.
Enhancing Emergency Medical Care in Our Region
Over the last few months, We Are Blood’s HERO+ Program has continued to expand our lifesaving reach across our ten counties.
In November, Buda Fire Department’s EMS division launched its whole blood program to provide blood transfusions for patients in the field, before arriving at the hospital.
As we rung in the new year, Austin-Travis County EMS shared that they have performed 700 lifesaving blood transfusions in the field, vastly improving patient outcomes.
Most recently, Blanco County ESD joined us in the Regional Whole Blood Program, offering this critical resource to rural areas. Working in partnership with South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, Blanco County ESD, and Capital Area Trauma Regional Advisory Council (CATRAC), the program will enhance emergency medical care across Blanco County communities.
Since its inception, We Are Blood’s HERO+ Program has grown significantly! And it’s our Positive whole blood donors who help make the HERO+ Program possible.
Support Our Local HERO+s
Help support our HERO+ Program with a donation through Amplify Austin. Your contribution will help fund outreach efforts to O Positive donors as well as support the process involved in providing low titer whole blood products for emergency on-site transfusions to our Central Texas first responder agencies.