Ranger Whole Blood Program wins Army innovation award and could save more lives on the battlefield

Huntsville, Alabama– On March 14, the 75th Ranger Regiment’s Ranger O Low Titer (ROLO) Whole Blood Program was recognized as the individual-military winner of the MG Harold J. Greene Award for Innovation. There are three categories of the MG Harold J. Greene Award for Innovation, Individual-Military, Individual-Civilian, and Group. The ROLO blood transfusion helps identify and screen O blood group donors for blood transfusions at the point of injury. This could save more lives on the battlefield if vital blood can get to injured soldiers faster.

The ROLO Whole Blood Program was developed in concert with international multidiscipline civilian and military providers of the Trauma Hemostasis and Oxygenation Research (THOR) network to bring emergency blood transfusion from the hospital environment to the battlefield. Thanks in large part to Lt. Col. Andre Cap, Chief of Blood Research at the Army Institute of Surgical Research and Lt. Col. Jason Corley, Deputy Director of the Army Blood Program, the ROLO Whole Blood Program went from concept to implementation at the unit-level in only 18 months.

The program identifies all blood group O members of the unit and then tests them to determine possible donors to be used at the point of injury (POI). Previous research and publications demonstrate that whole blood with low anti-A and anti-B IgM titers presents a low/negligible risk of a catastrophic acute hemolytic transfusion reaction when given to individuals that are not of the same blood group.” – US Army

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Image courtesy of US Army