From March 1st, the rescue helicopter “Christoph Regensburg”, located at the University Clinic Regensburg (UKR), will in future always carry blood and plasma reserves with him in order to be able to help patients in critical condition even better, and above all earlier . The importance of quick provision in an emergency becomes particularly clear in rural regions, as there the transport to the next clinic can take longer.

“There have been some critical situations in the past in which I would have wished we had had blood preparations with us,” says Dr. Katrin Judemann, chief helicopter doctor at the DRF air rescue station in Regensburg. The time factor is often decisive with regard to a blood transfusion : ” Blood preparations that are given to the seriously injured directly on site can save lives and I am very happy that we are now equipped with them,” adds the senior doctor at the Clinic for Anesthesiology at the UKR .

The innovation in air rescue is based on a scientifically tested, innovative procedure by DRF Luftrettung and Greifswald University Medical Center. The rapid transport of blood products by helicopter has been made possible here since 2019. This is particularly crucial for emergency patients with massive blood loss , who can be saved by giving blood and blood products quickly on site – a finding that is now also being used in rural Eastern Bavaria.

“Christoph Regensburg is very often called in to deal with serious accidents and, thanks to his speed, significantly shortens the preclinical interval for the seriously injured. We are very proud to be able to use a new therapy option that was previously reserved for the clinic and can now also be used preclinically. This is only possible through the commitment of all employees involved and a high-performance university clinic like the UKR, ”explains Dr. Jörg Braun, Head of the Medicine Department at DRF Luftrettung.

The fact that blood and plasma reserves are now part of the equipment is made possible by the cooperation between the Regensburg University Hospital and DRF Luftrettung: “The erythrocyte concentrates carried on the helicopter come from blood donations with blood group 0 Rh negative or positive, as well as freeze-dried plasma concentrates from blood group AB” , explains Priv.-Doz. Dr. Robert Offner, Medical Director of the Transfusion Medicine Department at the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine at the UKR. “These blood groups are ideal for use in emergency medicinebecause they are easily tolerated by patients of all blood groups (A, B, AB and 0) ”, says Dr. Offner continues. For the UKR, this means having a corresponding inventory of these life-saving “universal blood preparations” available for rescue flights around the clock. “We are happy to support the preclinical transfusion therapy, which begins today, for patients who are urgently dependent on blood and plasma transfer, because in such cases every minute of delay can be life-critical,” says Dr. Opener.

Carrying blood and blood plasma is also an advantage for further emergency medical care. “If the emergency patients have already been supplied with blood at the emergency location and during the transport to the UKR, potential damage due to the lack of oxygen carriers (erythrocytes) is reduced and we can deal directly with the actual care of the injury or illness when we arrive at the hospital thus saving valuable time, ”says Professor Dr. Bernhard Graf, Deputy Medical Director of the UKR and Director of the Clinic for Anaesthesiology of the UKR.