subject: Whole Blood Delivery: What Is It? [print this page] When a courier company decides to enter the field of medical deliveries on top of their regular commercial service, there are several specific sub categories of medical deliveries that they might become involved in. One of the most common of these, and probably the most common overall medical delivery that would be made by a PA delivery service is going to be something that is called whole blood delivery. This is exactly what it sounds like, as this is the delivery and transportation of blood that has not been altered in any way. When blood is taken from someone when they donate, this is the form that it comes straight from the donor in.
The reason that the need is felt to differentiate between "whole" blood and other blood, is because whole blood is not the form that blood is typically used in once it is actually given to a patient. When blood is actually used for transfusions and in procedures, it is usually only given as one of the individual components of blood. This includes things like plasma, the red blood cells, or the platelets, and not in the whole blood form.
The reason that blood is transported in the whole blood form is because blood is much more stable and has a longer life when it is kept in this form. Whole blood has a shelf life of approximately thirty days, but blood which is broken down into the other components it lasts only a fraction of that time. In addition, blood needs to be transported under specific conditions in order to ensure that it will reach that maximum shelf life, which is why these specialized couriers are needed to transport this blood. If the blood is not transported in the proper situation, which means temperature controlled transportation units, it won't last long enough to get to its destination.
Blood transportation forms an integral part of the medical industry, especially in remote and rural areas. These areas have just as much of a need for transfusion blood as any other areas; however, they have a much smaller pool of donors in the area. By having reliable whole blood couriers, it becomes possible for hospitals and clinics in those areas to provide the treatments that they need to their patients without having a source of that blood immediately in the area. Whole blood delivery services help improve the quality of health care that is offered across the country.
