Mecklenburg County Emergency Services reports that it has been accepted into the regional whole blood program through ODEMSA, enabling specially trained paramedics to administer low‑titer O‑positive whole blood to critically injured and ill patients before hospital arrival. The department has ordered specialized storage and warming equipment and begun training, with operations expected to start in July 2026 if equipment delivery and milestones stay on schedule. This program is a major clinical upgrade for a rural ground EMS system and involves ongoing needs for blood storage/transport devices, temperature monitoring, training, quality assurance, and coordination with hospitals and the regional EMS council. Vendors offering EMS medical devices, cold-chain solutions, training, data/QA systems, and clinical protocol support can approach the County and ODEMSA with tools to support rollout, monitoring, and potential expansion to more units and indications over time.

At report time, the only EMS agencies in the ODEMSA region providing whole blood prehospital are Che...