posted January 13, 2022

Carrying blood and plasma has been a top priority for us for years to support our efforts to help people with traumatic injuries. However, in some areas, it has not always been a feasible option to carry blood or plasma due to limited resources. We are proud to be a longtime partner of the American Red Cross, which supplies our aircraft with blood and plasma.

Emergency need for blood

As we ring in the new year, we want to remind everyone that January is National Blood Donor Month. The pandemic has caused many supply-chain bottlenecks in everyday life, but few are as critical as the United States’ ever-shrinking blood banks. For the American Red Cross, which supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood, and other nonprofit blood centers, the problem lies at the top of the chain: a diminishing number of healthy donors. Between remote work, blood drive cancellations, and the limits that colleges and businesses have placed on the number of people allowed in public spaces, donor turnout has dropped significantly.

The need for blood donation is dire. Patients across the nation are in great need and without an increase in donation, lives will be lost. Please make an appointment and donate today.

Saving lives in New York

At Air Methods, we must be able to provide all the equipment of an in-flight ICU so patients in emergent situations are effectively cared for during transit. Recently in New York, important legislation was passed allowing air ambulance transport service providers to store and distribute blood at all their facilities and initiate and administer transfusions while providing patient cared during an air emergency transport.

Today we are grateful that this legislation has passed, and we can now better serve the people of New York. We want to thank the New York leaders for all their support, and we are pleased to implement this new legislation to empower our incredible clinical teams to do what they do best—save lives.

Please support the American Red Cross

The addition of plasma in each transport is a critical milestone as it provides the crew with another tool to use with the patient in time-sensitive situations. Blood donation is safer than ever before and saves millions of people including cancer patients, organ recipients, and victims of accidents. Interested in donating blood or looking for ways to help? Check out the American Red Cross’ website.