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
Trump delivers rambling response to his hush money conviction
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Solutions coming for piled-up bodies outside Newfoundland hospital
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador say they are only weeks away from a solution to move unclaimed human remains out of roadside freezers and into a nearby hospital.
Jurors weigh death penalty after finding Chad Daybell guilty of killing his first wife and second wife's 2 children
A day after delivering a guilty verdict in Chad Daybell’s murder trial, an Idaho jury will reconvene Friday to weigh whether he will face the death penalty.
Actor Nick Pasqual charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing estranged girlfriend
An actor who has appeared in film and TV projects like 'Rebel Moon' and 'How I Met Your Mother' has been arrested and charged with stabbing his estranged girlfriend multiple times.
'Unprecedented': Human smuggling from B.C. to U.S. soars, using train, Uber and foot
American prosecutors and law enforcement officers say they're dealing with a huge increase in human smuggling from British Columbia.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.