A question for first responders

[Pacioli]

I run and cycle, often early and/or in rural locales. I've worn a RoadID for years, just in case. I put name, contact phone, NKA and blood type on it.

http://www.roadid.com/

Here's my question. Does it help first responders for me to list my blood type? I've been told that emergency and hospital staff won't take it at face value.

What's the truth? Does it help or is it just superfluous?

 

[3fifty7]

A tattoo seems more legit.
But I seriously doubt they would rely on a hand written note to cover themselves.

 

[Pacioli]

What makes you think it's a hand written note? Follow the link.

 

[SamNavy]

I run and cycle, often early and/or in rural locales. I've worn a RoadID for years, just in case. I put name, contact phone, NKA and blood type on it.

http://www.roadid.com/

Here's my question. Does it help first responders for me to list my blood type? I've been told that emergency and hospital staff won't take it at face value.

What's the truth? Does it help or is it just superfluous?

The answer is yes and no.

I'll start by saying that "first responders" can be anybody from a housewife with her CPR card up to an ER Doc headed out to dinner. If you're talking about a car/vehicle/bike accident, it's almost a certainty that the first responder isn't going to be an actual Paramedic.

That being said, ambulances don't carry blood onboard for transfusions in the field anyways. I'm trying to remember back to my junior-college EMT class, but I can't remember if there are any contra-indications for the commonly-carried-by-paramedic drugs that for particular blood types... ie (don't give morphine to A+ blood types) or something like that.

However, if you have a really rare blood-type that the local ER may not have a large stock of, and you're bleeding a river, the earlier they know, the better. If the medics in the field know your blood type, that data might make it into their radio call as they're inbound to the ER, and the sooner the ER knows you've got rare blood, the better.

In other words, it can't hurt, but the actual paramedics in the field won't necessarily "care" (not the right word to use).

 

[Pacioli]

Thanks for the reply Sam.

Let me clarify "first responders" to mean the trained medical professionals (EMT/Paramedic) dispatched to the scene.

 

[dwr461]

As a long time Paramedic in the field I'd say allergies to medications, past medical history, and contact information would be useful to us assuming you're unresponsive. Blood type? That matter in the field. In the ER doctors will type and cross your blood before giving you whole blood anyway regardless of the bracelet.

Dave

 

[LabRat]

In any case, your notification of blood type wont mean much. Most traumas that require immediate blood transfusions use an emergency released (non-crossmatched) O negative type (universal donor) unit of Packed Red blood Cells. It doesnt take long to type and Rh your own blood and depending on how fast you are bleeding, you would be switched to your own blood type ASAP to preserve the emergency supply of O negative units. Biggest problem may be if you are O negative, having to get O negative, taxing what supply is there. I have seen massive traumas where there was need to give O positive units to O negative patients because of supply. In that case, where the blood loss is that bad, it really doesnt matter about the Rh type, there is no time for your body to develop any antibodies to the wrong type. ABO incompatibilties are the real killers in transfusions. If you are type O and get type A, your body would immediately attack the new blood and destroy it, because the antibodies are already there and do not need to be developed by the body. Hope thats not too complicated, kind of hard to explain.

Short answer. Having you blood type on your ID wont matter in the case you need a transfusion. There are already mechanisms in place for emergency transfusions

 

[Pacioli]

Thanks everyone.

 

[TomTerrific]

I suspect that goes back to GI dog tags, which listed blood type as well as religious affiliation.

 

[dwr461]

In any case, your notification of blood type wont mean much. Most traumas that require immediate blood transfusions use an emergency released (non-crossmatched) O negative type (universal donor) unit of Packed Red blood Cells. It doesnt take long to type and Rh your own blood and depending on how fast you are bleeding, you would be switched to your own blood type ASAP to preserve the emergency supply of O negative units. Biggest problem may be if you are O negative, having to get O negative, taxing what supply is there. I have seen massive traumas where there was need to give O positive units to O negative patients because of supply. In that case, where the blood loss is that bad, it really doesnt matter about the Rh type, there is no time for your body to develop any antibodies to the wrong type. ABO incompatibilties are the real killers in transfusions. If you are type O and get type A, your body would immediately attack the new blood and destroy it, because the antibodies are already there and do not need to be developed by the body. Hope thats not too complicated, kind of hard to explain.

Short answer. Having you blood type on your ID wont matter in the case you need a transfusion. There are already mechanisms in place for emergency transfusions

Yeah I considered typing out all that but decided to keep it simple.

Dave