LA Health Services and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Statements on Yesterday’s Historic Launch of the Life-Saving LA-DROP Program 

YESTERDAY, leaders from across Los Angeles County gathered to celebrate the official launch of LA-DROP (Los Angeles Development and Rapid Operationalization of Prehospital Blood) — a groundbreaking pilot program that enables paramedics to administer lifesaving whole blood transfusions before patients reach the hospital.

“The first whole blood transfusion by ground EMS in Los Angeles County is a powerful testament to what coordinated, countywide collaboration can accomplish,” said Dr. Kelsey Wilhelm, LA-DROP Project Lead, Director of EMS and Disaster Preparedness at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and Medical Director for the City of Compton Fire Department. “This program represents nearly two years of planning, training, and trust-building among partners united by a shared mission: to save lives. We are hopeful that LA-DROP will have a lasting impact and help transform emergency medical services across our community.”

“Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is proud to have provided the clinical expertise that helped bring LA-DROP to life,” said Dr. Craig Goolsby, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Harbor-UCLA. “Our trauma surgeons, emergency physicians, and blood bank specialists worked side-by-side with fire and EMS partners to build a safe, effective program from the ground up. This is what public academic medicine does best — turning knowledge into lifesaving impact.”

“As a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who cared for many wounded soldiers while deployed, I’ve seen firsthand how prehospital blood transfusions can save lives on the battlefield,” Dr. Goolsby continued. “LA-DROP brings that same military-tested innovation to the streets of LA County. It’s a powerful example of how military and civilian medicine can come together to improve care for everyone.”

PHOTO CREDIT: LA County Fire Department