The University of Mississippi Medical Center's helicopter team infuses more than 425 units of blood every year. Many patients have severe trauma and are in rural areas of the state. Stephen Houck is Clinical Director at the Mississippi Center for Emergency Services. He says one of the most important things for emergency response is blood.
Houck says “Because we carry fluids and a lot of medicine, and things like that but it’s only blood that carries oxygen in the body. So a lot of times that is exactly what the patient needs to address their injuries so that they can make it to a trauma center or an operating room where they can get that final treatment or surgery they need to stabilize their condition.”
Doctors with the Mississippi Center for Emergency Services say they have around 125 units of blood currently, but those are used quickly. The center has a goal of 580 donations during this special donation drive. Houck says without adequate supplies, doctors are constantly making decisions to ration out blood.
“Anecdotally it feels like we’re always in a shortage,” says Houck. “So I wouldn’t say that we ever keep up with demand because blood is used for a lot of things, it’s used in the hospital for surgeries, GI bleeds, minor things, all the way up to your major traumas. So honestly you can never give enough blood to meet the demand that the state has.”
Donors can request that blood go towards emergency services when donations are made, and donors can also receive a free T-Shirt while supplies last.
