Whole Blood in Rural EMS: Expanding Regional Hemorrhage Management
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When a catastrophic injury or medical emergency occurs in a rural setting, time is critical. Severe hemorrhage can lead to hemorrhagic shock and death within minutes, making early recognition and treatment essential.
For decades, prehospital treatment of significant blood loss has relied largely on intravenous fluids such as saline. While these fluids can temporarily increase circulating volume, they do not replace the red blood cells, plasma, and platelets lost during major hemorrhage.
Beginning September 9, 2026, Lakes Region EMS will carry low-titer group O whole blood on a dedicated supervisor vehicle, becoming the fifth ground EMS service in Minnesota to implement a prehospital whole blood program.
This resource is designed to serve as a regional clinical asset, not simply a resource for Lakes Region EMS. The mobile unit can be deployed to assist other ambulance services, mutual aid partners, and critical access hospitals when patients are experiencing significant hemorrhage or require urgent blood product resuscitation. It can meet an ambulance during transport, respond directly to a scene, or provide blood to a critical access hospital when clinically appropriate.
The availability of this resource ultimately depends on volunteer blood donors. Every unit carried by Lakes Region EMS comes from the community through our partnership with Memorial Blood Centers.
Blood supplies remain under significant pressure, and maintaining access to whole blood for patients throughout our region depends on maintaining an adequate donor supply.
If you are eligible to donate, please consider giving blood. Your donation helps ensure that blood is available when hospitals and EMS clinicians need it most.
