Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) has marked 10 years of delivering pre-hospital emergency blood transfusions, recognising and thanking those who have played a vital role in making the service possible.
At a special event held at their airbase, DSAA brought together key partners, the clinicians who helped pioneer the initiative, and team members involved in its delivery and development to reflect on its impact over the past decade.
Among those in attendance was Louise Biggs and her family who had first-hand experience of needing a pre-hospital blood transfusion immediately prior to giving birth in January. 
Severe bleeding is one of the most urgent and life-threatening challenges following major trauma or acute medical conditions. When minutes matter, starting a transfusion at the scene can be the difference between a patient reaching hospital with a chance of survival or not reaching hospital at all.
When DSAA introduced the carriage of blood components in 2016, it represented a major step forward in pre-hospital critical care. Developed in collaboration with Dorset County Hospital, NHS Blood and Transplant, Devon Freewheelers, the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and the Henry Surtees Foundation, the initiative enabled doctors and specialist practitioners to begin replacing lost blood at the roadside, in rural locations and in patients’ homes well before they arrived at hospital.
Ten years on, 473 patients have been given a chance of survival through a blood transfusion provided by the DSAA team.
Dr Phil Hyde, DSAA’s Medical Director, said: “To have this life-saving resource available to us is a gift from society. It gives our clinicians the ability and confidence to sustain patients with catastrophic bleeding long enough to get them to hospital for the ongoing emergency treatment they need.
“Before we carried blood components, many of us remember holding the hands of patients who sadly died on the way to hospital. Within just seven days of launching in 2016, we delivered our first transfusion, demonstrating both the immediate need and the impact of this capability.
“Today, we are holding hands and seeing patients survive, going on to meet them, their families and even their children. This is truly life-changing, both for our patients and for the clinicians delivering their care.
“A blood transfusion is a significant intervention, it’s literary a ‘liquid transplant’ from another person. It is complex and detailed work to safely enable blood transfusion outside of hospital and it requires an amazing network of colleagues across many agencies and charities to achieve it.
“We are so grateful to every member of this regional collaboration for enabling life chances for the people of Dorset and Somerset.”
Join Somerset Chamber of Commerce to give your business a stronger voice both locally, regionally and nationally. Combined with local town chambers, we represent over 2,000 businesses across Somerset with a direct line to policy-makers at all levels.
