The Texas EMS Alliance Is Asking State Lawmakers for $4 Million in the State’s Budget to Fund Whole Blood on Ambulances

Austin – February 10, 2025 – Physicians representing Texas EMS agencies asked the Texas Senate Committee on Finance for $4 million for whole blood on ambulances at the committee’s February 4, 2025, hearing on Article II of the state’s base budget.

Click here for TEMSA’s background document on whole blood and the appropriations request for the 2025 Texas Legislature.

Emily Kidd, MD, of Acadian Ambulance provided the following testimony (transcript):

I’m a double board certified emergency medicine and EMS physician. I’m here speaking on behalf of myself as well as the Texas chapter of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the Texas EMS Alliance to ask for your funding support in helping to make sure that all Texans have access to the most clinically impactful advancement in the treatment of EMS patients in decades, whole blood on ambulances. While use of whole blood to save lives has been around since World War one and World War two, it fell out of favor for several decades, but has recently come back into the forefront of treatment of critically bleeding trauma medical and obstetrical patients after significant amount of research has been done on this particular subject during our recent wars. This research shows that the use of blood products and in particular whole blood leads to significantly improved outcomes and trauma and saves lives. I and my colleagues who currently use blood in our EMS practices have seen miracles and miraculous saves in trauma medical and OB patients.

So, if this is so great, why doesn’t everybody have it? Currently, less than eight percent of our EMS agencies in Texas, carry whole blood and less than 40 of our counties in Texas are covered by whole blood. The reason is twofold. Number one, cost, which I’ll get to in a moment and number two, stewardship. There is a novel rotation program that is run by STRAC, the University, University Health System in San Antonio and South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, as well as several EMS agencies that has led to less than 1% wastage of this precious resource.

Secondly, cost. Most Texas EMS agencies do not have access to blood mainly because it costs so much. They don’t have access to this novel program other than the few agencies that are in our program, and they have to buy the blood outright. Currently, there is no good funding or reimbursement mechanism to EMS agencies for this whole blood. You can you can finish your sentence.

About the Texas EMS Alliance

The Texas EMS Alliance (TEMSA) was founded in 2014 to serve as the unified voice of Texas EMS agencies. Over 90 urban and rural EMS agencies that provide 911 services to their communities are TEMSA members.

Visit www.txemsa.com to learn more about EMS in Texas