JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Officials with Mississippi Blood Services (MBS) announced a new program will enhance emergency care across rural areas of the state.

According to MBS, the RESCUE Program will partner with LifeCare Ambulance Services beginning September 18.

The Rural Emergency Services Care, blood Utilization and Survival (RESCUE) Program is a collaborative program between MBS, local emergency responders, and the greater community to bring lifesaving prehospital blood to the communities that have limited access to traumatic care and have a high incidence of traumatic injury.

“Rural medicine has changed greatly in the past twenty years, and we are hoping to be one of the first rural counties in the southeast to provide lifesaving blood products on ambulances for critically injured patients before arrival to the hospital,” said Dr. Daman Darsey, Chief Executive Officer of Paladin Emergency Services Consulting. “The evidence is clear in other communities outside of the state of Mississippi, that prehospital transfusions for trauma victims improves the chances of patient survival in many cases and should be an option available to our community.”

Units of blood will be available on LifeCare Ambulance Service vehicles in the Sharkey County, Scott County, Winston County, Leake County, Kemper County and Noxubee County areas.

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