Last November, we shared the news that Des Moines and West Des Moines EMS had launched Iowa’s first prehospital blood program. Nearly a year on, that state-awarded pilot has done exactly what it set out to do: prove the model works. Starting November 1, every EMS department in Iowa can now opt in, WHO 13 reports.

During the pilot, Des Moines EMS transfused 22 units of blood and West Des Moines EMS transfused eight. According to West Des Moines EMS Deputy Chief Brian Rayhons, patients are receiving blood an average of 15 to 20 minutes before they would have reached the hospital, and arriving alive and in better condition for the trauma teams waiting for them. One of those patients was a security guard stabbed in April, whose condition stabilized after Des Moines medics transfused him before transport, as Radio Iowa reported.

The pilot was built on a strong regional partnership between the two departments, MercyOne, UnityPoint Health and LifeServe Blood Center, which supplies the blood locally. Over the past year, the team has worked through the practical challenges of running a field blood program, creating a tested blueprint that other Iowa agencies, including smaller and rural departments far from a trauma center, can now adopt.

At Delta Development Team, we’re proud to have supported Des Moines and West Des Moines from the start. Since launch, both programs have grown on DDT equipment: Des Moines Fire Department now carries blood in Delta ICE 2L Smart Blood Coolers and vehicle-mounted APRU 6L Portable Blood Refrigerators, and West Des Moines EMS uses the APRU 6L, with BloodCOMM® monitoring temperature and tracking every unit across both agencies. We look forward to supporting more Iowa agencies as they join the program.