Army to treat casualties using ‘life-saving’ freeze dried plasma
SOLDIERS will be given blood transfusions on the front line by paramedics for the first time using freeze dried plasma.
As part of the new Blood Far Forward initiative that is being used on Operation MINUSMA, the UN’S peacekeeping mission in Mali, troops are leaving base armed with bottles of dried plasma that then can be mixed with water and administered to a soldier in the event of an emergency. For the first time on conventional operations, British Army paramedics will be authorised to administer the blood without a doctor present, which the Ministry of Defence believes will ultimately save more lives.
Lessons learnt in Iraq and Afghanistan on the treatment of casualties have since been heeded.
Previously, if soldiers were injured while away from base they would have to be transported to surgical facilities that were often an hour and a half away.
Once at the field hospital, they would be given blood transfusions. However, in Afghanistan surgical teams began administering blood transfusions to casualties on medical evacuation enroute to hospitals.
The frozen fresh plasma, which had been defrosted at Camp Bastion, would be administered on the air ambulance.
The results showed that bleeding casualties who received a blood transfusion before reaching hospital achieved better outcomes.
However, this remained logistically challenging as the plasma required freezer storage and at least 20 minutes to thaw before administration. Once defrosted, it had to be used within five days or risk being spoilt.
Now, the Ground Manoeuvre Surgical Group deployed in support of the Long Range Reconnaissance Group in Mali, is for the first time carrying the dried plasma blood, which is stored in ambient temperatures and can be readied in around five minutes.
The dried plasma, which comes from 11 donors of mixed blood groups is pooled, creating a universal product that will not react with the recipient, irrespective of their group. When mixed with water, the plasma, which was developed by the French military, has exactly the same properties and effect as defrosted frozen fresh plasma.
A defence source said: “Having access to dried plasma and the personnel to authorise its use further forward than ever before will save lives.”
Lt Col Gary Fitchett, Blood Far Forward lead, said: “Since our time in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have made considerable progress in the way that we administer critical care on operations.
The Blood Far Forward initiative is reflective of this and will enable us to provide efficient treatment.”
It comes as the Mod’s Defence and Science Technology Laboratory has partnered with Bristol University to fund research into creating a universal man-made blood.
Scientists are working to develop a unique universal red blood cell that can be given to people regardless of blood type, alongside early stage research that would enable it to be stored and shipped at room temperature.