Air ambulance brought blood to 96 patients last year

Thames Valley Air Ambulance was the second Helicopter Emergency Medical Service

A total of 96 critically ill or injured patients received blood from a regional air ambulance team last year, new figures have shown.

Thames Valley Air Ambulance saved people across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire thanks to blood donations.

The figures have been released to mark World Blood Donor Day.

Thames Valley Air Ambulance was the second Helicopter Emergency Medical Service unit in the country to carry blood onboard its vehicles.

It has given blood to 402 patients since it became an independent healthcare provider in 2018.

Adam Panter, chief operating officer at the service, said: “The ability to give blood to patients who are bleeding heavily, for example after a road traffic collision, is just one of the hospital-level interventions our expert crew can perform at the roadside, or wherever it is needed."