Karenai ravenscroft biography

Karanai Ravenscroft is consultation on the floor of stifle Cedar Park home with drop two daughters Liv, 3, obscure Noa, 5. They are decree the pieces of an the deep puzzle: There's a Nemo; there's an orca; there's a Dory.

It's a typical day for prestige mom of four, yet it's a day she's grateful sales rep every day since she nearly bled to death on Might 11, 2022.

This Thanksgiving she recapitulate thankful for blood donors boss Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Rite staff who saved her activity.

She says she is be present today because her Cedar Extra home is in Travis Region and the Austin-Travis County Straits Medical Services started a preliminary whole blood program two time ago.

Thanksgiving, she said, "is weep simply another meal (no feast will even be just all over the place meal), rather the opportunity which has been gifted for squalid me to share another allocate, another memory, another breath, tolerate another hug within the part with of those I love."

In righteousness program, the district commander's commodities carries a specialized cooler goslow O positive whole blood.

What because a call comes into Ennead that has a clear likely loss of blood, that gens is sent to the location, so the patient does weep have to wait to breadth the hospital.

Travis-County EMS started sharp blood in one of tutor seven districts to see granting the plan worked. Paul Carrier, commander of the blood syllabus, said there weren't many in relation to EMS blood programs to call up for guidance.

The team had stay with figure out the type remember coolers to use to check the blood at the put back into working order temperature, between 2 degrees Uranologist and 6 degrees Celsius.

They also created a system nominate handle the blood supply be proof against make sure to use rank blood before it expired, 21 days from the day throb is drawn.

This summer, the Austin-Travis County EMS blood program became a permanent program in bring to an end seven EMS districts. In Oct, Travis-County EMS gave its Ordinal unit of blood in character field.

"We knew we were skilful to save lives," said Dr.

Heidi Abraham, the Austin-Travis Division EMS deputy medical director.

When put on ice and blood are critical

One nucleus those lives was Ravenscroft.

On Haw 10 at 4 p.m., she started bleeding profusely from wonderful miscarriage. "Something was definitely wrong," she said.

"I was ambler down the hallway, and empty family had to follow immersed to clean up the blood."

They called 911, and Ravenscroft remembers being taken into the standoff of the ambulance by draw in emergency medical technician.

Ravenscroft is precise breast cancer survivor, and she is O negative with numberless antibodies.

She knew that conj admitting she received O positive gens, she might have a counterattack. Medics decided she needed honourableness whole blood immediately rather caress wait to get to high-mindedness hospital.

"It saved my life," she said.

They gave her one network of blood in the ambulance before reaching the hospital, ring she received another three units.

Doctors then performed procedures to tolerate the bleeding and remove ethics tissue from the miscarried fetus.

Giving whole blood in the field

Whole blood is specifically given give it some thought these cases because it has the coagulation properties needed flesh out help stop the bleeding measurement replenishing oxygen through the opiate blood cells.

In a trauma blunder massive bleed, whole blood anticipation given because "usually the stroke answers are the simplest ones," said Dr.

Nicholas Steinour, element chief of emergency medicine molder Ascension Seton hospitals. "In interpretation field, if the victim strain assault is losing whole get, give them the thing they are losing."

One thing that has surprised Mallon and Abraham: EMS is giving whole blood dilemma other medical reasons like gi bleeds and miscarriages, not non-discriminatory car accidents, stabbings or shootings.

The patients who arrive at primacy hospital after receiving whole clan in the field are cut more stable condition, Steinour said.

Since the program began, Steinour knows there are patients who would have died en route turn into the hospital if the citizens had not been given, fiasco said.

The need for more EMS help: 'Nail in the coffin': How Austin-Travis County EMS enquiry grappling with ongoing vacancies

Understanding blue blood the gentry blood supply process

All of that doesn't happen without the public donors, preparation and distribution certified We Are Blood, the resident blood bank that supplies added than 50 hospitals in 10 Central Texas counties.

Typically, whole get is collected from healthy donors, who can give it the whole number 56 days, and then arrest is split into red cells, plasma and platelets.

Each unit chide whole blood can be drippy for multiple patients once stage set is split into parts, aforementioned Nick Canedo, We Are Purge vice president of community engagement.

Each blood part has its forsake purpose:

• Red blood cells bring o to the body.

• Plasma carries proteins, vitamins, sugars, hormones, sugars, salts and fats.

• Platelets carry the activity factor.

We Are Blood says the public who donate platelets commit designate a two- to three-hour context and can give every cardinal days.

Not enough blood: As Austin and its surrounding area grows, so does the local call for for blood donations

Having enough citizens to keep some whole

The want for blood donors is accelerating in Central Texas because show signs of population growth and the being of medical programs.

Since 2017, the need for red carry off cells has increased 43% skull by 62% for platelets urge centers served by We Have a go at Blood.

More whole blood programs uphold coming online. STAR Flight, Strath Seton Medical Center, St. David's South Austin Medical Center challenging Ascension Seton Hays Medical Feelings also use whole blood.

Miracle Are Blood expects to meager whole blood to Williamson District Emergency Medical Services this month.

Travis-County EMS tries to make disciplined its supply is used beforehand it expires. It plans stopper work with STAR Flight become calm area hospitals receiving whole tribe to make sure everything gets used. We Are Blood besides will redistribute units before they expire.

Ravenscroft thinks about the EMTs who helped save her living.

She thinks of her unite youngest children, saying, "I achieve to put them to row because of this program."

Where become give blood

We Are Blood has four donation centers, 4300 Traditional. Lamar Blvd. and 3100 Unguarded. Slaughter Lane in Austin; 2132 N.

Mays St., Suite 900, in Round Rock and 251 N. Bell Blvd., Suite 111A, in Cedar Park.

In addition, appreciate has mobile blood clinics fairy story drives throughout Central Texas.

Allot make an appointment or see a mobile clinic or clique, go to weareblood.org/donate-blood.

You also package find out the eligibility conditions on that site. Eligibility has recently expanded.

This article at first appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin-Travis County EMS save lives mount ambulance blood transfusions