Today, London’s Air Ambulance, will make history as the first
air ambulance in the UK to carry blood on board its aircraft and
cars. Every day in London, victims of major trauma are attended
by London’s Air Ambulance. Many of these patients are suffering
from catastrophic bleeding. Some die at the scene from blood
loss and never make it to hospital. Until today the highly
trained medical teams have been unable to transfuse blood at the
scene of the incident. Normal saline has been used as an
alternative but, as it does not carry oxygen, it is not the
ideal resuscitation fluid. Blood carries oxygen which is
delivered to major organs including the brain. A pre-hospital
blood transfusion may improve the patient’s chance of survival.
Blood is a precious resource and must be stored at a specific
temperature in special containers. The SCA Cool Logistics’
Credo, thermal range (“Golden Hour Boxes”), which is also used
by the British Military, was found to be the most suitable
following extensive research carried out