Groundbreaking blood transfusion service saves Tennessee woman who delivered baby in bathroom
“If it wasn’t for that ambulance coming to me and being able to carry blood, they told me that I wouldn’t have made it to the hospital.”
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (WSMV) - Williamson County is one of only two counties in Tennessee equipped to perform life-saving blood transfusions on the ground, a service that recently saved the lives of a mother and her prematurely born baby in Brentwood.
Kelly Moore unexpectedly gave birth to her son, Easton Herrick, at 27 weeks in her parents’ bathroom. Easton weighed just 2 pounds, 14 ounces at birth. Moore said she was experiencing back pain and then thought she needed to use the restroom. That’s when she started bleeding heavily. She said within minutes, her baby was crowning.
“As I’m trying to sit down on the floor, my mom’s catching him,” Moore said. The rapid delivery left Moore losing large amounts of blood. Meanwhile, Easton wasn’t breathing. Her husband and father called 911, and her mother performed CPR on the newborn.
Williamson Health EMS arrived and took immediate action. Moore was rushed to the hospital while the paramedics worked to resuscitate Easton. Drifting in and out of consciousness, Kelly said thoughts of her family kept her fighting to stay alive.
“I fought. I fought every breath that I had left,” she said.
The EMS team administered a life-saving blood transfusion to Kelly in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Michael Wallace, Chief of EMS at Williamson Health, said the nature of their service is critical.
“We never give the product unless it’s life-threatening,” Wallace said. Williamson Medical Center EMS is the first 911 ground transport in Middle Tennessee capable of providing blood transfusions before reaching the hospital, a service also available in Crockett County in West Tennessee.
Since 2019, Wallace said Williamson Health EMS has saved 85 lives through in-field blood transfusions -- including Moore’s. “Once they gave me the plasma and the blood and everything, I started feeling better. I could feel like energy and like relief almost within myself,” she said.
After 94 days in the NICU, baby Easton was finally able to go home. The family has since formed a special bond with the EMS team who saved their lives, even inviting them to Easton’s first birthday party, which had a first-responder theme.
“I can never thank them. I can never repay them for what they’ve done and what they did that night,” Kelly said, tearfully.
The success of this blood transfusion service around the country has sparked interest in other counties in Tennessee. The Medical Director of Nashville Fire, Corey Slovis, said transport times in Metro Nashville are very quick—around 10 minutes or less—so the need for in-ambulance transfusions may be limited. However, many EMS services with similar short response times are studying the potential benefits of this service. Slovis said the data is exciting and if it proves to be valuable to trauma patients in Nashville, they will implement it.
Blood used by Williamson Medical EMS comes from a partnership with Blood Assurance. Wallace said maintaining an adequate blood supply is their biggest challenge. To support their efforts, donations are encouraged. Visit Blood Assurance’s website to sign up to donate and learn more.
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