A VALUABLE organisation that operates in Cumbria has announced a new development which could help save countless more lives across the region.
The Great North Air Ambulance Service has now started carrying plasma on board its aircraft to give patients an even better chance of survival.
As one of the only air ambulance services in the UK to carry plasma (which has special blood-clotting components to stop bleeding) the GNAAS has become an industry leader which is set to save many more lives across Cumbria and the rest of the North West.
Dr Rachel Hawes, from the GNAAS, said: "Scientific studies suggest that up to 30 per cent of trauma patients with severe bleeding are no longer able to form blood clots normally by the time they arrive in the Emergency Department.
"This means that when the patients arrive in ED, they haven’t been able to produce enough of their own blood clots to keep up with the bleeding and so the bleeding spirals out of control.
“By giving a more balanced transfusion, using equal volumes of red blood cells and plasma, we hope to prevent this happening to our critically ill patients, ultimately helping to save their lives.”
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