Plano Fire-Rescue to launch whole blood program in July

When severe blood loss turns deadly, the first minutes can matter more than the ride to the emergency department. Plano Fire-Rescue plans to put Type O whole blood on Squad One in July, giving first responders a way to begin transfusion care in the field for trauma patients and others with major hemorrhage. Crews trained on June 10 as the department moved from planning into rollout.

Medical Director Dr. Mark Gamber has cast the program as a way to bring hospital-level care to Plano residents sooner. That approach matches the direction of emergency medicine organizations that say blood transfusion before arrival at the hospital can improve survival and help keep a patient from quickly sliding into shock. The American Red Cross says whole blood is used for patients who have sustained significant blood loss from trauma or surgery.

The program will run through a partnership with Carter BloodCare and Medical City Plano. Plano Fire-Rescue said Squad One will carry the blood in a cooler, use it during the first half of its shelf-life, then transfer it to Medical City Plano for operating-room or emergency-room use during the second half. Plano City Council approved new user fees on May 26 to help offset program costs.

The rollout adds to a regional blood-supply network that already reaches emergency crews across North Texas. Carter BloodCare says it supplies blood products to more than 30 EMS bases and locations, and CareFlite has carried its blood products aboard helicopters since 2018 before later transitioning to whole blood plus plasma. Plano’s donor center also accepts whole blood, plasma, platelets and double red donations, giving the city another piece of infrastructure behind the new program.

The blood program arrives as Plano Fire-Rescue keeps expanding its capabilities. The department has hired 22 firefighters since last December and operates as the first all-paid fire department in Texas to adopt a 24/72 shift schedule. City officials also approved a $140 million maximum construction budget in May for the new Plano Public Safety Campus, which will house police headquarters, a 911 communications center, a central utility plant and Fire Station 14. Plano opened a $15 million fire training facility in 2022, a setup that helped prepare crews for the June 10 training and the July launch.