Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue began carrying blood on its EMS trucks in March, and now its blood supplier is facing a critical shortage.
The blood on the units is purchased from LifeSouth, a blood bank currently facing an extremely low supply. Normally, the bank has a five-day supply of blood, but right now they only have a one- to two-day supply.
TFR doesn’t use the blood on their units very often, but Deputy Fire Chief Chris Williamson said the blood is critical when they do use it.
“We can give blood in the field to seriously injured patients,” Williamson said. “Victims of shootings or stabbings, people in car wrecks, that sort of thing can benefit a lot if they get the blood earlier.”
Williamson said in the five months since implementing the new system, TFR has given blood in the field less than 10 times.