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FEATURE

Brothers in Arms program to ensure a effective in treating trauma victims suffer- Vietnam wars.
regular supply. The goal is to expand the ing from significant blood loss. It was discontinued when the process of
program to provide whole blood to area “The general mortality rate for critically separating red cells from platelets and
emergency vehicles and trauma centers injured patients requiring massive transfu- plasma became common during the 1970s.
throughout the region. sions at hospital trauma centers is 75 per- Blood for emergency use is stored at
Blood for the program does not un- cent,” said Jenkins. “Our battlefield the helicopters’ base station in a moni-
dergo any modification at STBTC. experience showed that providing earlier, tored refrigerator. The units are moved to
Brothers in Arms represents a collab- pre-hospital transfusions of whole blood, a transport container when the helicop-
oration among the South Texas Blood & rather than blood components or primarily ters receive a call.
Tissue Center, the Southwest Texas Re- red blood cells, brought mortality rates The South Texas Blood & Tissue Cen-
gional Advisory Council, University down as low as 20 percent.” ter is a nonprofit community blood center
Health System, the San Antonio Military Jenkins later began to transfer the pro- that provides blood, plasma, platelets and
Medical Center, The U.S. Army Institute gram to civilian use as trauma medical di- other blood components to more than 70
of Surgical Research, the UT Health Sci- rector at the Mayo Clinic. He is now a hospitals in more than 40 counties in
ence Center and medical helicopter serv- surgical critical care specialist affiliated with South Texas. It is the largest blood sup-
ices Air Evac Lifeteam, PHI Inc. and San University Hospital in San Antonio, and plier in our region.
Antonio AirLIFE. the Betty and Bob Kelso Distinguished STBTC has seven donor rooms in South
Research led by Dr. Donald Jenkins, a Chair in Burn and Trauma Surgery at UT Texas and conducts thousands of mobile
former U.S. Air Force officer and the prin- Health San Antonio. blood drives each year. More information
cipal architect of the Joint Trauma Theater The idea of using type O whole blood about the center and the Brothers in Arms
Trauma System in Iraq and Afghanistan, in emergencies dates to battlefield use in program is available at
showed that combining the practice of World War I, and during the latter stages SouthTexasBlood.org.
pre-hospital transfusions with specially of World War II, the concept of using
tested units of whole blood – rather than only low-titer type O blood for emer- Dr. Samantha Gomez Ngamsuntikul is As-
transfusing individual blood components gency use was introduced. The system re- sociate Medical Director for BioBridge Global in
of red cells, plasma or platelets – is most mained in place through the Korean and San Antonio.

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