A Boca Raton EMT demonstrates the ‘whole blood’ administration process. (Photo: City of Boca Raton)
Boca Raton’s Fire-Rescue service will join the less than 2 percent of EMS services in the nation that will be able to perform emergency blood transfusions that can save lives in the most dire of situations.
The city announced Wednesday that it is now equipping its firefighter-paramedics with “whole blood” for use in the field, allowing first responders to provide advanced, life-saving treatment to critically injured and ill patients before they arrive at the hospital. “Whole blood,” according to EMT.gov, is a substance that provides red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma to patients in emergencies, going beyond the standard practice of providing patients with IV fluids. The carriage of whole blood will allow EMTs to provide the life-saving treatment to critically injured and ill patients before they arrive at the hospital. One of the most frequent usage cases for whole blood is for tending to victims of car crashes when they have lost a large amount of their natural blood…