AUSTIN (KXAN) — A heartfelt reunion happened on Wednesday between Austin-Travis County EMS medics and a person who is alive today, thanks to the agency’s ability to give blood out in the field.
Morgan Walker is from Alaska. After having her surgery in Austin earlier this year, she suffered a life-threatening hemorrhage. She said she called 911 from her Air BNB, and ATCEMS medics tracked her down.
Medics administered a life-saving blood transfusion on the road, which they could not have done without the department’s whole blood program.
ATCEMS vehicles are now equipped with whole blood, which allows medics to give blood transfusions out in the field. It is part of a partnership between multiple city entities that began in 2021, according to ATCEMS.
“I really credit them with saving my life. I don’t think I would be here today but for them. So, I’m extremely grateful to Austin County EMS and for all the residents of Austin County who made this program possible,” Walker said.
The ATCEMS Whole Blood Program is a “collaboration between ATCEMS and We Are Blood, with the goal of making blood available to patients as close to the time of injury as possible,” the release said.