The Mehlville Fire Protection District is introducing a new program to provide onsite blood transfusions in emergencies.

Currently, the district can only replace volume lost during emergencies using a saline solution. The new program will replace the actual blood lost to residents in the district who are hemorrhaging.

The program came to be after some district staff analyzed different calls “where people bleed,” such as vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds and stabbings, gastrointestinal bleeding, and obstetrics emergencies, Battalion Chief Adam Hager told the MFPD Board of Directors at its Nov. 29 meeting.

The blood is stored in a special refrigerator and monitored via Bluetooth at a consistent temperature between 2 degrees and 6 degrees Celsius. When delivered to a call, the blood will be warmed to the physiological temperature, “just as it would in a Level 1 trauma center,” Hager said.

The blood is O-positive, meaning it can be transfused universally to all patients without cross-matching it.

Read more in the Dec. 14 print edition of The Call.