Allegheny Health Network Prehospital Care Services has launched a prehospital blood program that allows specially trained paramedics to administer blood products to critically injured and ill patients before they reach a hospital.
AHN says the initiative is being deployed in phases across five Paramedic Response Units serving Belle Vernon, Tarentum, Monroeville, Wexford and northern Butler County.
Once fully implemented, network officials said the deployment will represent one of Pennsylvania’s largest hospital-affiliated prehospital ground-support blood programs.
Each regional response team features a Paramedic Response Unit vehicle that provides support during high-priority emergency calls, including vehicle accidents and cardiac arrest. Every vehicle in the five deployment areas is equipped with a temperature-monitored refrigeration unit to carry Type O blood products.
Recent updates to Pennsylvania emergency medical services protocols and scope-of-practice guidelines permit trained paramedics to administer blood in the field, AHN says.
“Providing blood transfusions in the field gives our paramedics another powerful tool to help care for individuals facing serious medical emergencies,” Bob Twaddle said, vice president of AHN Prehospital Care Services. “By bringing this capability directly into the communities we serve, we can begin critical treatment sooner and help improve outcomes, particularly when every second counts.”
To prevent waste of blood supplies, Twaddle said unit teams will work directly with AHN hospitals to rotate blood products before reaching their expiration dates.
AHN says severe blood loss causes between 31,000 and 60,000 deaths in the United States each year and earlier access to blood products can improve outcomes for patients experiencing severe hemorrhage.
This program expands upon previous regional partnerships. In May 2025, Ross/West View EMS launched a prehospital blood program in partnership with AHN, administering its first field transfusion three days after deployment.
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