Synthetic blood may be on its way to ambulances serving Douglas County.

Officials with Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical have approved their participation in a clinical trial that would use the product to treat critically injured trauma victims.

Researchers with the Kansas University Medical Center, who are spearheading the trial, plan to host a public meeting in the next week to gain support for the project, which scientists said could dramatically increase trauma victims’ chances for survival.

“There are not many times we who are involved in trauma do something that is truly landmark, that changes entirely what we do,” said Dr. Michael Moncure, the KU physician who is overseeing the study.

KU is one of 21 study sites across the country involved with the Food and Drug Administration trial of PolyHeme, a blood substitute manufactured by Northfield Laboratories in Evanston, Ill.

So far, three other counties – Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth – have signed on to use PolyHeme through the KU portion of the study.

Currently, emergency medical technicians at an accident site are only allowed to give trauma patients who are bleeding severely a saline solution, which can’t carry oxygen to the body. Blood transfusions are impractical in the field, in part because of difficulty matching blood types and the availability of blood.

PolyHeme allows for oxygen transport in severely wounded patients, increasing their chances for survival.

In the trial, half of patients in the field would be given PolyHeme, while the other would continue receiving the saline solution.

The trial would affect only patients being transported to the University of Kansas Hospital. Patients receiving PolyHeme at the scene and in an ambulance would continue to receive it for up to 12 hours after treatment begins.

The FDA generally requires individuals to consent before subjecting them to clinical trials. But since trauma patients generally can’t give that consent, the FDA has allowed a rare exception for this trial.

Instead of individual consent, KU will seek community support for the project in the counties involved. That will mean meetings with emergency personnel, government leaders and the public.

Individuals not wanting to participate can wear a blue opt-out bracelet.

Mark Bradford, deputy chief of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical, said county medical officials had reviewed the study and wanted to pursue participation. Attorneys with the city and county also have approved the trial, he said.

“We’re at the point with the entities to move forward with the education component,” Bradford said.

He said his department has a history of being involved with cutting-edge research.

Moncure said he wanted Douglas County’s participation, in part, because of the high volume of traffic along Kansas Highway 10 headed to the Kansas City metropolitan area.

The KU Medical Center’s Human Subjects Committee is scheduled to review public input from Wyandotte, Leavenworth and Johnson counties on Oct. 11. If it is satisfied with support, it will approve the use of PolyHeme starting in November.

Moncure said if a meeting can be scheduled in Lawrence – probably at the Lawrence Public Library – before then, Douglas County’s participation could be approved at the same meeting. He said little opposition had developed in other counties or at other sites involved.

Additional public education will occur after community approval, Moncure said.

“We’ll be hitting the news, the airwaves, print, taking out ads after getting approved from our (Human Subjects Committee),” he said.