UF Health, ACFR collaborate to supply rescue vehicles with whole blood

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — This week begins a new era for health care and fire rescue in Alachua County.

UF Health and Alachua County Fire Rescue are working together to supply whole blood in rescue vehicles. This effort extends advanced trauma care to patients throughout Alachua County while aligning with the Florida Department of Health’s efforts to create the nation’s first statewide system of ambulances and other emergency response vehicles equipped with blood products.

“This collaboration represents a powerful step forward in how we deliver life‑saving care to our community,” said Leah Blackwell, R.N., chief nursing officer at UF Health Shands. “By extending access to whole blood into the prehospital setting, we are giving first responders and clinicians the tools they need to act decisively during the most critical moments. This partnership with Alachua County Fire Rescue reflects our shared commitment to innovation, teamwork and improving survival for patients experiencing severe trauma.”

Whole blood, which is unseparated and contains red blood cells, plasma and platelets, is best for injured patients at risk of hemorrhagic shock. Uncontrolled bleeding remains the leading cause of preventable death in trauma, but early blood transfusion helps save lives.

“For patients with severe trauma requiring resuscitation and stabilization, there are periods of time known as the golden hour and the platinum 10 minutes,” J. Peter R. Pelletier, M.D., FCAP, FASCP, medical director of transfusion services at the UF Health Blood Bank. “Providing blood to be transfused in the prehospital setting is vital. These transfusions help us to kick off the resuscitation and stabilization process.”

Since 2021, UF Health has used low-titer group O whole blood, a universal safe blood product, as the primary initial resuscitation fluid for patients experiencing severe bleeding, including for those initially treated on UF Health ShandsCair. Now, ACFR units will be stocked with the same blood.

UF Health, an adult and pediatric Level 1 trauma center, will help ensure blood is properly stored throughout its travel and units can be rotated between the hospital and ACFR to optimize availability and use. Over 50,000 units of blood, collected by LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, are transfused each year at UF Health.