{"id":43173,"date":"2021-11-29T11:19:01","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T18:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=43173"},"modified":"2022-05-31T13:24:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T19:24:00","slug":"donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"Provide life-saving whole blood for trauma patients at blood drive"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Keith
Keith Thiel with his dog, Kaiju before his accident that nearly took his life. Photo courtesy of Keith Thiel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When a trauma patient arrives at a hospital with life-threatening injuries, blood is often the best tool doctors have to give the patient a fighting chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to give blood to patients buys us time and staves off rapid death from low blood pressure or blood loss,\u201d said Dr. Chris Dennis<\/a>, a trauma and acute care surgeon with UCHealth.<\/p>\n

Giving whole blood to patients with traumatic injuries is a practice first proven in the military and has since been adopted in the last decade by trauma centers across the country, replacing older methods like giving IV fluids as a first line of treatment.<\/p>\n

Consider becoming a donor on your own time at the UCHealth Garth Englund Blood Donation Centers in Fort Collins or Loveland by\u00a0filling out this form for more information<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhole blood has all the blood components: red blood cells, platelets and plasma,\u201d Dennis said. \u201cThings like IV fluids, used for years for trauma resuscitation, require such large volumes to be administered that they can cause problems with the lungs or heart. This can make recovery more difficult. Additionally, IV fluids alone can make trauma patients more prone to bleed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith whole blood, we can give a patient less volume and they get all the benefits of the various blood components that were traditionally given separately.”<\/p>\n

Although only about 20% of trauma patients who arrive at the hospital need blood, it is critical for survival.<\/p>\n

Such was the case with 35-year-old Keith Thiel of Fort Collins.<\/p>\n

Blood products needed in critical trauma cases<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In August 2021, Thiel was heading home in his Honda Accord from the Morrison, Colorado communications business he owns with his uncle. He’d stopped by a friend’s house to get something and was heading onto U.S. Highway 60 when he was T-boned by another vehicle going 55 mph. Thiel has no recollection of the accident or much of the month after. Dennis was the admitting physician when Thiel arrived by ambulance at UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Keith's
Keith’s car after another vehicle T-boned it going 55 mph. Photo courtesy of Keith Thiel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe was in rough shape,\u201d Dennis said. \u201cHe was minimally responsive. Not truly comatose, but he wasn\u2019t responding to anything around him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within minutes, Dennis and his team inserted a breathing tube. Thiel\u2019s brain wasn\u2019t functioning well, and his blood pressure was about 40 points below normal. The trauma team began providing whole blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cLow blood pressure is an outward sign the patient has some sort of internal hemorrhage, has lost a lot of blood before getting to us, or has a serious problem with their spinal cord or brain,\u201d Dennis said. \u201cSo, our initial goal, at a bare minimum, is to raise their blood pressure enough to assure their vital organs are getting sufficient blood flow to prevent further damage. The whole blood we are able to give helps to restore adequate blood flow and helps the body form blood clots to staunch further bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where does trauma blood supply come from?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UCHealth Garth Englund Blood Donation Center collects an average of 203 units of whole blood per week. Almost all of those units are separated into red blood and platelets, which are provided to Medical Center of the Rockies, UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, UCHealth Greeley Hospital, UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital and Estes Park Health. However, three units of blood each week are kept whole so that the Medical Center of the Rockies trauma team has supplies when they need them. Whole blood has a shelf life of 21 days.<\/p>\n

That supply comes from the generosity of blood donors and the trauma team relies on specific male blood donors, said Anna Johnson, manager of laboratory services at Poudre Valley Hospital<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Chris Dennis, trauma and acute care surgeon at UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Only low titer (testing done to see how many antibodies are present) O-positive male donors can be used for the trauma team’s purpose,” Johnson said. Blood from donors not in this group may possess antibodies that can be harmful to trauma patients.<\/p>\n

The center collects blood through about a half-dozen weekly blood drives and donor visits to the center\u2019s two locations, 1025 Pennock Place, Suite 104, Fort Collins<\/a>, Colorado, and 2500 Rocky Mountain Ave., Loveland<\/a>, Colorado.<\/p>\n

A blood donation at Garth Englund Blood Donation Center takes less than one hour. There is a brief check-in where donors provide their age, weight and health history.<\/p>\n

A person must be 18 years or older to donate (or 17 with a guardian’s permission). New donors must weigh at least 120 pounds and be in good health. Prior donors must weigh at least 110 pounds and have had no complications during previous donations. Military service members who have historically not been able to donate may qualify now due to lifted restrictions<\/a>, and people who have recently gotten a tattoo may also be eligible to donate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After check-in, the process of obtaining one unit of whole blood takes about 6-12 minutes. The patient is monitored by the blood center staff. Afterward, the donor is sent home with a snack.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/span>Check out these other drives in Northern Colorado during the holiday season<\/div>
\n

Fort Collins<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jan. 11, 2022: 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunshine House, 139 Blood Drive, 2060 Perennial Lane, Fort Collins, CO 80526, Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan. 22, 2022: 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Josephs\u2019 Hardware Blood Drive, 2160 W. Drake Road, Unit A-5, Fort Collins, CO 80526, Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan. 28, 2022: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunshine House, 2482 Miles House Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80525, Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Greeley<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jan. 5, 2022: 9 a.m.-1 p.m, UCHealth Greeley Hospital, 6767 W 29th St, Greeley, CO 80634; \u00a0Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb. 2, 2022: 9 a.m.-1 p.m, UCHealth Greeley Hospital, 6767 W 29th St, Greeley, CO 80634; \u00a0Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Loveland<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jan. 20, 2022: 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Sunshine House Center, 172 Blood Drive, 1801 Piney River Drive,\u00a0 Loveland, CO 80538, Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Longmont<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jan. 11, 2022: 9 a.m.-3 p.m., UCHealth Longmont Clinic, 1925 W Mountain View Ave., Longmont, CO 80501, Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan. 13, 2022:10 a.m.-2 p.m., UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital, 1750 E Ken Pratt Blvd., Longmont, CO 80504, Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Estes Park<\/strong><\/p>\n

None scheduled at this time.<\/p>\n

Frederick<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jan. 15, 2022: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., The Town of Frederick Community Blood Drive, Town of Frederick, 311 Fifth St., Frederick, CO 80530, Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Bellvue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jan. 16, 2022: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Morning Fresh Dairy Blood Drive, 5821 W. County Road 54E, Bellvue, CO 80512, Sign up to donate.<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

In most cases, whole blood is separated into two parts: red blood cells and plasma. Whole blood for the trauma team is also held back, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

People also may choose to donate platelets or double red blood during a slightly longer process. This automated process is called apheresis, which allows the donor to give blood that is then separated into its three basic parts: platelets, red cells (at double the amount of a normal donation) and plasma. The selected component of blood donated is taken and the other parts are returned to the donor.<\/p>\n

Donating blood is an altruistic gift that saves lives, Dennis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough they are the minority of our trauma cases, some who do need blood may need enough to replace their whole blood volume twice over,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd almost always, these patients require major operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The average-sized adult has anywhere from 5 to 7 liters of blood in their body. Thiel needed 16 liters of blood throughout his hospital stay.<\/p>\n

How blood products are used to save lives<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Frank DiPiazza, Thiel\u2019s stepfather, remembers getting a call about the accident as he and Thiel\u2019s mother, Teri, were getting ready for bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were petrified,\u201d DiPiazza said. \u201cThey told us it wasn\u2019t looking good and that we needed to be prepared \u2026 We don\u2019t even like to talk about it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thiel\u2019s first blood transfusion at the hospital gave doctors time to figure out the extent of Thiel\u2019s injuries.<\/p>\n

\"Keith's
Keith’s X-rays show the repairs that were needed to his leg and pelvis. Photo courtesy of Keith Thiel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe had some obvious injuries to extremities but being able to give him blood bought us a bit of time in terms of stabilizing his vitals so we could get a CT scan of his body,\u201d Dennis said. \u201cThat turned out to be crucial because it helped us identify bleeding in his brain, an injury to his aorta and major injuries in his abdomen. All of these injuries required surgery to save his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thiel had a torn aorta, the main artery that carries blood away from the heart to the rest of the body, which is often a fatal injury. He also had a lacerated bladder and liver, traumatic brain injury, a broken tibia and pelvis, and a compound break to his fibula.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor people like Thiel, whose injuries are very serious, the people that donate blood are helping both the patients and us to give the patient enough time to heal from their injuries. Without that ability, we’d see a lot more deaths and see it earlier on.”<\/p>\n

Blood donors are critical to patients\u2019 recovery<\/strong><\/h2>\n

During his hospital stay, Thiel had several surgeries to repair his aorta, organs, pelvis and leg.<\/p>\n

After healing at Medical Center of the Rockies, he transferred to Poudre Valley Hospital for rehabilitation. There, he worked with occupational, physical and speech therapists.<\/p>\n

Thiel went home on Sept. 22, 2021, after 44 days in the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was surprised,\u201d Thiel said. \u201cThey thought I\u2019d need to be there another few months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thiel is no longer using his wheelchair. He still uses a cane when out and about, and he uses his walker when taking his 4-year-old American Bulldog Terrier, Kaiju, for a walk.<\/p>\n

Before Thiel\u2019s accident, his friend was teaching him how to work on cars. The Honda he had been working on was destroyed in the wreck, but Thiel hopes to one day be able to find a new vehicle and continue learning.<\/p>\n

\"Keith
Keith Thiel was in a horrible car wreck whereas a trauma patient, he needed whole blood to survive. Here he is in front of the car that he was fixing before it was totaled in the accident. Photo courtesy of Keith Thiel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He can’t wait to get back outdoors to camp and on his bicycle, two things he’s loved all his life.<\/p>\n

Until then, he\u2019s doing what he can to help his uncle with the business. This Thanksgiving he spent hours in his kitchen baking peanut butter and spritz cookies, and pumpkin muffins to give to clients to show gratitude.<\/p>\n

As he reflects on the holidays, Thiel said he is thankful for his friends and family, including his mom and Frank, who have helped him heal since the accident, the medical staff at UCHealth that saved his life, and the blood donors who made it all possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a trauma patient arrives at a hospital with life-threatening injuries, blood is often the best tool doctors have to give the patient a fighting chance. \u201cBeing able to give blood to patients buys us time and staves off rapid death from low blood pressure or blood loss,\u201d said Dr. Chris Dennis, a trauma and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2164,"featured_media":43177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[146,3305,267,565,1789],"class_list":["post-43173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-blood-donation","tag-donating-blood","tag-intensive-care-unit","tag-trauma-services","tag-uchealth-medical-center-of-the-rockies"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDonate life-saving whole blood for trauma patients - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For patients whose injuries are very serious, the people that donate whole blood are helping trauma teams stave off rapid death.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Provide life-saving whole blood for trauma patients at blood drive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For patients whose injuries are very serious, the people that donate whole blood are helping trauma teams stave off rapid death.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-29T18:19:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-31T19:24:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/11\/29105209\/keith-car-tiny.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2974962d9c19ae1bbcec3250ab830fbc\"},\"headline\":\"Provide life-saving whole blood for trauma patients at blood drive\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-29T18:19:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-31T19:24:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1911,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/29105209\\\/keith-car-tiny.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Blood donation\",\"donating blood\",\"Intensive care unit\",\"Trauma services\",\"UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/\",\"name\":\"Donate life-saving whole blood for trauma patients - UCHealth Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/29105209\\\/keith-car-tiny.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-29T18:19:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-31T19:24:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"For patients whose injuries are very serious, the people that donate whole blood are helping trauma teams stave off rapid death.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/29105209\\\/keith-car-tiny.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/29105209\\\/keith-car-tiny.webp\",\"width\":550,\"height\":548,\"caption\":\"Keith Thiel was in a horrible car wreck where as a trauma patient, he needed whole blood to survive. Here he is in front of the car that he was fixing before the accident totaled it. Photo courtesy of Keith Thiel .\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Provide life-saving whole blood for trauma patients at blood drive\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"description\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UCHealth\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"UCHealth\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/uchealth\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/uchealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/school\\\/14839\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2974962d9c19ae1bbcec3250ab830fbc\",\"name\":\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\"},\"description\":\"Kati Blocker has always been driven to learn and explore the world around her. And every day, as a writer for UCHealth, Kati meets inspiring people, learns about life-saving technology, and gets to know the amazing people who are saving lives each day. Even better, she gets to share their stories with the world. As a journalism major at the University of Wyoming, Kati wrote for her college newspaper. She also studied abroad in Swansea, Wales, while simultaneously writing for a Colorado metaphysical newspaper. After college, Kati was a reporter for the Montrose Daily Press and the Telluride Watch, covering education and health care in rural Colorado, as well as city news and business. When she's not writing, Kati is creating her own stories with her husband Joel and their two children.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/author\\\/katieblocker\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Donate life-saving whole blood for trauma patients - UCHealth Today","description":"For patients whose injuries are very serious, the people that donate whole blood are helping trauma teams stave off rapid death.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Provide life-saving whole blood for trauma patients at blood drive","og_description":"For patients whose injuries are very serious, the people that donate whole blood are helping trauma teams stave off rapid death.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/","og_site_name":"UCHealth Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","article_published_time":"2021-11-29T18:19:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-31T19:24:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/11\/29105209\/keith-car-tiny.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uchealth","twitter_site":"@uchealth","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/"},"author":{"name":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/2974962d9c19ae1bbcec3250ab830fbc"},"headline":"Provide life-saving whole blood for trauma patients at blood drive","datePublished":"2021-11-29T18:19:01+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-31T19:24:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/"},"wordCount":1911,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/11\/29105209\/keith-car-tiny.webp","keywords":["Blood donation","donating blood","Intensive care unit","Trauma services","UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies"],"articleSection":["Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/","name":"Donate life-saving whole blood for trauma patients - UCHealth Today","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/11\/29105209\/keith-car-tiny.webp","datePublished":"2021-11-29T18:19:01+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-31T19:24:00+00:00","description":"For patients whose injuries are very serious, the people that donate whole blood are helping trauma teams stave off rapid death.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/11\/29105209\/keith-car-tiny.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/11\/29105209\/keith-car-tiny.webp","width":550,"height":548,"caption":"Keith Thiel was in a horrible car wreck where as a trauma patient, he needed whole blood to survive. Here he is in front of the car that he was fixing before the accident totaled it. Photo courtesy of Keith Thiel ."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/donate-life-saving-whole-blood-for-trauma-patients\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Provide life-saving whole blood for trauma patients at blood drive"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","name":"UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth Today","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization","name":"UCHealth","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"UCHealth"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/uchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uchealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/14839\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/2974962d9c19ae1bbcec3250ab830fbc","name":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth"},"description":"Kati Blocker has always been driven to learn and explore the world around her. And every day, as a writer for UCHealth, Kati meets inspiring people, learns about life-saving technology, and gets to know the amazing people who are saving lives each day. Even better, she gets to share their stories with the world. As a journalism major at the University of Wyoming, Kati wrote for her college newspaper. She also studied abroad in Swansea, Wales, while simultaneously writing for a Colorado metaphysical newspaper. After college, Kati was a reporter for the Montrose Daily Press and the Telluride Watch, covering education and health care in rural Colorado, as well as city news and business. When she's not writing, Kati is creating her own stories with her husband Joel and their two children.","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/katieblocker\/"}]}},"coauthors":[{"id":2164,"name":"Kati Blocker","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/katieblocker\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43173"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43616,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43173\/revisions\/43616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}