Blood transfusion administered to help save injured ATV rider in Walpole

WALPOLE, Mass. (WWLP) – Paramedics from the Caton Fire Department were called to Walpole to administer a whole blood transfusion to an injured ATV rider.

According to a news release from Canton Fire Chief Wendell Robery, at around 8 p.m. Friday, Walpole Fire Department requested assistance after an overturned all-terrain vehicle (ATV) with a patient trapped was bleeding profusely in a densely wooded area. Walpole firefighters were able to rescue the 20-year-old man and bring him to a helicopter landing zone on a baseball field.

While evaluating the man’s injuries, it was determined he needed whole blood in the field before being brought to a trauma center. Canton Firefighter Paramedics Douglas Connor and Daniel Pendergast arrived within minutes to administer a unit of O-negative blood to the patient. The patient was able to show stronger vital signs and talk with the medics before taking the flight in a Boston MedFlight medical helicopter to a Boston hospital.

Chief Robery says the Canton Fire Department’s Field Transfusion Paramedic Program is new and they were the first agency in Massachusetts to administer a whole blood transfusion to a patient in the field on June 29th after a motor vehicle crash in Braintree.

“Programs like this allow firefighters to administer whole blood and literally replace what was lost in the field. This allows paramedics to better stabilize patients to get them to a hospital in better condition when literally seconds count,” Chief Robery said. “We worked in lockstep on Friday evening, Programs like this further illustrate the good work of our inter-agency teams, regardless of borders.”

Affording to the federally-supported Stop the Bleed initiative, bleeding is the number one cause of death after an injury . The rapid availability of whole blood is a matter of life and death for many patients, and it has been seen as a more effective treatment than traditional paramedical techniques, such as the administration of intravenous fluids or plasma/component therapy.

There are 25 municipalities surrounding Canton participating in the Field Transfusion Paramedic Program. The rapid availability of whole blood is a matter of life and death for many patients, this program helps assist in the rescue and emergency medical care of a trauma patient.

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