Saving lives with pre-hospital blood
The field of trauma care has long faced critical challenges related to delivering life-saving whole blood at the point of injury. For decades, one crucial resource has hamstrung trauma care teams: blood supplies. There’s rarely enough whole blood when it’s needed most, because keeping it safe for use is a constant logistical struggle. Whole blood must stay between 2°C and 6°C from donation to delivery—any temperature swings can make it unsafe for transfusion. Standard coolers and transport boxes fail to consistently maintain this range, especially in chaotic emergency conditions. When EMS teams cannot prove that usused blood supplies are safe, they cannot be returned to blood banks. As a result, precious resources are wasted.
Blood Transfusions Save Lives
More significantly, there is a severe shortage of whole blood for trauma care. According to research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), providing whole blood during the first half hour of hospital admission can significantly increase survival following catastrophic hemorrhage. The effect was diminished by even slight delays of 10 to 15 minutes, highlighting the importance of dependable access and quick transit networks.
Delta Development: Transforming Prehospital Blood Delivery
In order to overcome these obstacles, Delta Development Team has taken the lead in introducing new advanced solutions to improve prehospital blood management in EMS, the military, and rural healthcare. These include:
Integrated smart coolers that utilize phase change materials and real-time temperature monitoring, automating compliance with storage standards and ensuring safe blood delivery in all conditions.
Advanced tools for automatic temperature validation and the blood warmer, designed for rapid field deployment and easy multi-environment use without consumables.
Automated software, BloodCOMM®, that enables agencies to manage inventories, monitor compliance, and rotate nearly-expired units back to major trauma centers, thus minimizing waste.
Driving the Standard for Trauma Care
Since the introduction of its first Autonomous Portable Refrigeration Unit, the only FDA approved blood transport unit, market adoption is accelerating. Fewer than 2% of U.S. EMS agencies have full-fledged prehospital whole blood programs—yet over 70% of these depend on Delta’s platform. Major EMS divisions in Los Angeles, Austin, San Antonio have switched legacy systems to Delta’s blood management platforms. Recent programs, such as those in California and Colorado Springs, have demonstrated pronounced increases in survival rates, with Colorado Springs experiencing a 60% gain in 30-day trauma survival and a 68% lift in additional “saves” since inception.
Several states have begun to codify prehospital transfusion programs, notably Texas and Colorado. The Modernizing EMS Delivery and Sustainability bill (H.R. 3443), which supports necessary blood products for EMS patients, has been supported by the National Association of EMS Physicians. [1] Legislative efforts to recognize EMS teams not as transportation systems but as front-line providers to lifesaving care are also ongoing.
The American College of Surgeons estimates over 10,000 trauma deaths per year could be avoided with timely access to blood transfusions. By transforming cold chain logistics, Delta Development is setting a new benchmark for what’s possible in trauma care. There’s never been a more exciting—and impactful—moment to back Delta Development as they continue to drive broader access to whole blood transfusion and redefine standards for emergency care.
Delta Development’s mobile unit in the field. Credit: Delta Devt.
Ensure your local emergency care system is equipped with modern whole blood solutions. Visit https://deltadevteam.com for more information.
Watch “Bloodlines”, a documentary on the evolution of trauma care and how the administration of prehospital blood is saving lives.
Video credit: Foamfrat Studio.
Photo credit: Mathurin Napoly