Mercy Air Care in Sioux City has partnered with LifeServe Blood Center to carry Type O-negative blood on Mercy’s helicopter.
Mickey Sauser, the director of Mercy’s Air Care Service, says initiating a blood transfusion before the patient arrives at the hospital can mean the difference between life and death for a critically injured person:
OC……..much better outcomes. ;24
Type O-negative blood can be donated to patients of all blood types.
The blood will be kept in a special cooler on the aircraft and if not used, will be returned to hospital stores, so it is not wasted:
OC…….than we do. ;17
Saucer says a typical air care call involves responding to a motor vehicle accident.
Having the ability to take blood to the scene of that accident improves the survival chances for a person who is lying in the car and possibly bleeding to death:
OC…….as possible. :21
Mercy Air Care has served Siouxland since 1987.
