The United Kingdom’s (UK) Ministry of Defen[s]e has announced the “Blood Far Forward,” a freeze dried plasma military program. According to a news release, from NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), the national blood provider for England and transplant services for the UK, the initiative is designed to “deliver blood and plasma within 30 minutes of injury to soldiers in active warzones.” The agency hopes that “[freeze-dried] plasma – which helps the blood to clot – will decrease the Army’s reliance on frozen plasma which has to be thawed, taking longer to administer, and could be used by NHS Air Ambulances in the future.”
UK Health Minister Neil O’Brien stated in the news release, “this project has the potential to save soldiers’ lives by treating significant blood loss with plasma. We are continuing our history of health innovation on the battlefield and investing in cutting-edge treatments by delivering plasma made in the UK to the front line. We work best when we’re working together and this project is the perfect example of the government, NHSBT, the Army and medical technologists collaborating to deliver transformative care to people when they need it.” Currently, the Army “sources dried plasma from NATO partners, which [are] subject to significant worldwide demand. Sourcing it from the UK will ensure the Army has adequate supply that is not reliant on other countries. The project will also enable single units of plasma to be produced without the need of complex facilities and placed in more convenient, plastic bags. Technological resources for the project will be provided by Velico Medical.”
Clinical trials will take place in the UK as the program anticipates costs of £4.9 million. “The Army [is funding] NHSBT to find a way to manufacture dried plasma for use on military operations.”