ImpactLife prepares for increase in blood utilization during "trauma season"
May 02 2024 - 9:31AM
Spring weather and warming temps signal the beginning of “trauma
season,” a time of year when emergency room doctors and emergency
medical services (EMS) providers expect an increase in trauma and
injuries that follows a seasonal pattern. Warm weather correlates
to an increase in outdoor activities such as mountain biking, use
of all-terrain vehicles, rock climbing, and more. This comes with a
corresponding increase in patients who require immediate medical
attention due to accidents, injuries, and other emergencies.
Many of these patients suffer from severe bleeding and rely on
blood transfusions to survive. ImpactLife is now looking to
increase appointment schedules to meet this demand and save lives.
To find an ImpactLife Donor Center location or mobile blood
drive, call (800) 747-5401, schedule online at www.bloodcenter.org
or via the ImpactLife mobile app
(www.bloodcenter.org/app).
Dr. Doug Soltys, a trauma surgeon with SSM Health Saint Mary’s
Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, says he expects to see more
patients injured in outdoor activities this time of year. “And
actually we see more in the first few months as opposed to the end
of summer. I think people are just excited to be back outside and
maybe act a little bit more crazily than they should,” says Dr.
Soltys, adding that blood transfusions are essential for helping
save lives of injured patients in the ER.
“Usually with traumatic accidents, we’re concerned about
bleeding. If people come in and they’ve lost a lot of blood, we
give one liter of fluid and then immediately start going in to
blood products,” says Dr. Soltys. “We’ve learned we get better
outcomes and patients do better if they immediately receive blood
products upon reaching the trauma bay.” (Video interview: learn
about trauma season and Massive Transfusion Protocol.)
Warm weather also coincides with more gunshot wounds and other
interpersonal violence. According to the American College of
Surgeons, hemorrhage is the most common cause of death within the
first hour of arrival to a trauma center and more than 80% of
deaths in the operating room and nearly 50% of deaths in the first
24 hours after injury are due to severe blood loss. (U.S. Blood
Donation Statistics and Public Messaging Guide, America’s Blood
Centers.)
Trauma season underscores the importance of maintaining a strong
and stable blood supply at all times of year. To thank donors who
give blood at this time of year, ImpactLife is providing all
presenting donors with a voucher to redeem for their choice of an
electronic gift card, bonus points to use in the ImpactLife Donor
Rewards Store, or an equivalent value donation to Best Friends
Animal Society through the blood center’s “Good Giving”
program.
ImpactLife Donor Rewards (through May 31)
- Whole blood donation (Donor Centers and mobile
blood drives)
- $20 gift card, $20 donation OR 1,000 points
- Double red and plasma only donations
- $25 gift card, $25 donation OR 1,500 points
- Platelet donations (donors who have given
platelets 2+ times previously with ImpactLife)
- $25 gift card, $25 donation OR 1,500 points
- Platelet donations (donor’s first or second
attempt to ever give platelets with ImpactLife)
- $50 gift card, $50 donation OR 3,000 points
About ImpactLife
ImpactLife is a nonprofit community organization providing blood
products and services to more than 120 hospitals and emergency
medical service providers in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and
Wisconsin, as well as researchers and resource sharing partners
across the country. ImpactLife operates 23 Donor Centers and holds
approximately 5000 mobile blood drives annually to provide blood
components needed for patient transfusions at hospitals throughout
our region and beyond.
For more information on blood inventories and donor promotions,
see www.bloodcenter.org and find us @impactlifeblood on Facebook,
X, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
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Kirby Winn
ImpactLife
(563) 349-1571
kwinn@impactlife.org