By DIANTÉ MARIGNY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
A patient treated near Beach Access #3 on Friday, May 30, received what may have been a life-saving intervention, thanks to a cutting-edge emergency capability now carried by the South Padre Island Fire Department EMS. The patient was administered a unit of Low Titer O+ Whole Blood (LTOWB) on-scene—the first time such a transfusion has been delivered pre-hospital by an EMS provider in Cameron County.
The new life-saving measure comes just one week after SPI EMS began carrying LTOWB in its units on May 23, as part of a regional partnership involving the Trauma Regional Advisory Council – V (TRAC-V), South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, and several Rio Grande Valley EMS agencies.
“This kind of intervention used to only be possible inside a hospital. Now, we can deliver whole blood to critically injured patients before they even arrive at the ER,” said a spokesperson from the SPI Fire Department.
After receiving the transfusion, the patient was transported to Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, a Level II Trauma Center. There, Dr. Daniel Bolton, Trauma Medical Director, performed a complex three-hour surgery to control internal bleeding.
Dr. Bolton credited the on-scene blood transfusion with saving the patient’s life. “The patient arrived with severe blood loss and dangerously low blood pressure,” he said. “The early administration of whole blood in the field was absolutely lifesaving. It bought us the time we needed to operate and save a life.”
South Padre Island is now one of only five EMS agencies in the Rio Grande Valley to carry LTOWB—and the first in Cameron County. The program is part of a new LTOWB rotation system implemented by TRAC-V, aimed at ensuring timely access to whole blood during trauma emergencies.
Nathan Ramon, Executive Director of TRAC-V, praised the department’s initiative. “We commend the South Padre Island Fire Department for stepping up to deliver the best care possible. Innovations like whole blood transfusion are raising the bar for trauma care across the region.”
Officials say the successful use of LTOWB marks a significant advancement in pre-hospital emergency care for the region, with the potential to dramatically improve survival rates in severe trauma cases.
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