Cobb County paramedics save woman’s life with fire department’s 1st pre-hospital blood transfusion

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services saved a woman’s life by administering a blood transfusion. It was the first pre-hospital blood transfusion by the fire department.

Paramedics responded to an accident Tuesday afternoon in which a woman was ejected on Veterans Memorial Highway. The woman had multiple injuries, including a partially amputated arm, and she had no pulse.

David Kleiman responded to the scene and said once in the ambulance, he administered warm blood and the patient woke up.

“For me to give one unit of packed red blood cells and her to start talking to me is just mindblowing,” said Kleiman, who is part of the medical operations team.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Cobb County EMS among the first to offer life-saving, pre-hospital blood transfusions in Georgia

This was the first pre-hospital blood transfusion in Cobb County, after the department launched this new program on Feb. 14.

“We always want people to be safe, wear their seatbelts, do something safe,” Kleiman said. “But if this happens and you’re in Cobb County, we’re going to give you a fighting chance.”

Kleiman said the blood equipment is the difference between life and death. Had Tuesday’s accident happened five days earlier, the patient may not have survived, he said.

According to Kleiman, it is expensive to keep and store this blood, but he hopes to see similar programs across the country.

“Last year we identified 72 trauma patients who we could have gave blood to, to either save their lives or get them to a hospital where the trauma surgeons could save their life,” he said.