Ornge 'Blood on Board' program expands to London, Ont.
Ornge, Ontario’s provider of air ambulance and critical care transport services, and London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) announced Wednesday the expansion of the Blood on Board program to the Forest City.
“This is a big step forward for trauma and injured patients within the London region with the expansion of our Blood on Board program to the London base,” explained Ornge Associate Medical Officer Dr. Michael Peddle.
He added, “It's our third base to come online within our organization. And what it means is, we're now able to bring blood to the trauma and injured patients in the field or when we're picking up patients from smaller hospitals to be able to deliver blood during transport.”
Ornge paramedics will have blood on the aircraft, allowing crews to launch without delay, and bringing blood products with them to communities by air and shortening administration time to patients in need.
“Some of the patients we encounter in small rural communities, oftentimes if we think that they need blood and they need blood before we can bring them to London to get blood...to the receiving hospital. We have to go to a smaller hospital to acquire blood to transfuse on route to the major center hospital like Hamilton or Toronto or London,” explained Andrew Hamilton, a critical care paramedic.
The blood will be supplied by LHSC, from the hospital’s blood bank according to John French, corporate executive for diagnostics at LHSC.
Ornge expanded its 'Blood on Board' program to London, Ont. on April 24, 2024. (Marek Sutherland/CTV News London)
“We will replace the blood every three days so we continually supply the blood and then the blood is returned to us. If it's unused, we would then use it [for] patients [at] our facility,” he explained. “So the blood does not go to waste.”
The collaboration between Ornge and LHSC launched on April 24 and has already been used to treat patients.
“We have used it twice already in the first week that we've been up and running for patients in our system that are local to London. Which is a really big like even just in one week, we've already used it twice,” Peddle said.
Ontario’s first Blood on Board program – a partnership between Ornge and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto – launched in 2021. Ornge previously expanded the Blood on Board program to Thunder Bay in April 2023 to enhance access to care for rural and remote patients.
More than 250 units of blood have been administered to over 120 patients since the launch of the program.
Hemorrhage is a leading cause of death in traumatically injured patients. Research shows that early blood transfusion can improve patient outcomes.
As warm weather approaches and ‘trauma season’ nears, Ornge and LHSC encourage anyone who is able to consider visiting a Canadian Blood Service donation centre to donate.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Toddler dies after being struck by recycling truck in Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood
A toddler has died after being struck by a recycling truck in a Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon.
Morgan Spurlock, Oscar-nominated director of 'Super Size Me,' dies at 53
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar-nominee who made food and American diets his life's work, famously eating only at McDonald's for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died. He was 53.
Top Russian military officials are being arrested. Why is it happening?
It began last month with the arrest of a Russian deputy defense minister. Then the head of the ministry’s personnel directorate was hauled into court. This week, two more senior military officials were detained. All face charges of corruption, which they have denied.
Canadian border workers vote in favour of possible strike: union
Border workers have voted in favour of a strike mandate which could lead to 'significant disruptions' to the flow of goods, services and people through Canadian ports of entry, their union said Friday morning.
Milk sold in Canadian grocery stores tested for avian influenza; results released
As avian flu spreads south of the border, Canadian officials are now testing samples of milk sold in grocery stores across the country.
Man who escaped from prison in Quebec may be in Ontario
A warrant has been issued for 32-year-old Yacine Zouaoui, who went unaccounted for at the minimum security Federal Training Centre.
Italian teenage computer wizard set to become the first saint of the millennial generation
Pope Francis paved the way for the canonization of the first saint of the millennial generation on Thursday, attributing a second miracle to a 15-year-old Italian computer whiz who died of leukemia in 2006.
Ontario's so-called 'Crypto King' transferred more than $500K on video game platforms as recently as March: bankruptcy report
Ontario’s so-called 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski has transferred more than half a million dollars on video gaming platforms in a series of transactions made as recently as March, a new bankruptcy report shows.
World Court orders Israel to halt assault on Gaza's Rafah
Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in a landmark emergency ruling on South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide.