Page 12 - JSOM Fall 2022

Aviation Advisor training aircraft to assess whether aerial re­ FIGURE 2 Pre-drop.
supply could potentially serve as a platform to deliver blood
products to combat medics when casualty evacuation was un­
available. The study suggested that airdrop can be an effective
and safe method for blood delivery; however, the analysis re­
quired increased power to validate its safety. To achieve statis­
tical significance and incorporate other operational aircraft,
this project airdropped 24 units of blood from both C­145
and C­130 aircraft. Finally, additional data were collected us­
ing an accelerometer to evaluate the forces acting upon the
blood.

Methods
WB Collection
In compliance with standards set forth by the AABB and
FDA, a total of 48 CPDA­1 blood collection sets (Haemon­
etics; NSN, 6505­01­599­8028) were used to collect 500mL (A) Bundle prepared for the drop. (B) Pre­drop laboratory testing.
(C) Packing bundles. (D) Rigger checking the bundles.
WB from volunteer donors. For the C­145 airdrop, 21 WB
units were collected 18 days pre­drop and shipped overnight FIGURE 3 C-145 airdrop.
to the Eglin AFB hospital laboratory. An additional 14 WB
units were collected 8 days pre­drop from donors and stored
in the same laboratory. The units were stored at 3°C in a
temperature­ controlled refrigerator. Baseline samples were
collected from each WB CPDA­1 collection unit prior to air­
drop. For the C­145 drop, four units of WB were placed into
each of the six BloodBoxx Evac blood coolers (Combat Med­
ical; SKU, 39­401), each also containing four cooling packs
refrigerated to 3°C. A total of 24 experimental WB units were
airdropped, and 11 control WB units were placed into blood
coolers that were not airdropped. For the first C­130 airdrop,
eight units were collected the day prior to the drop. The stor­
age, pre­laboratory collection, and packing were consistent
with the above. A total of 4 experimental WB units were air­ (A) C­145 dropping bundles at night. (B) Loadmaster preparing for
airdrop. (C) C­145 ramp. (D) Tracking bundle on the drop zone.
dropped and 4 control WB units were not airdropped as a (E) Loading the C­145. (F) Bundle configuration on the C­145.
control group. For the second C­130 airdrop, 19 WB units
were collected 5 days prior to the drop, and 1 additional WB FIGURE 4 C-130 airdrop.
unit was collected the day prior. The storage, pre­laboratory
collection, and packing process was consistent with the above.
A total of 20 experimental WB units were placed into blood
coolers and airdropped, and there were no additional control
units. All airdropped blood was within storage parameters for
transfusion prior to the drop per Joint Trauma System and
AABB guidelines. 7,8

FIGURE 1 Configuration/set-up.

(A) C­130 profile. (B) Floor loaded with bundles. (C) The loadmas­
ter drops a bundle from the paratroop door. (D) Loading the C­130.
(E) Checking bundles prior to the drop. (F) The C­130 airdrop. (G) The
bundle under the chute.
Airdrop Procedures
A SATB parachute or 68­in pilot chute (henceforth referred to
as a chute) (NSN, 1670­00­216­7297) was packed and rigged
to the airdrop blood cooler with 8/4 unwaxed cotton thread
(Figures 1–5). The total weight of the chute, chute deployment
(A) CPDA­1 bag configuration. (B) Combat Medical BloodBoxx Evac bag, blood cooler, four cooling bags, four WB units, and an ac­
blood cooler with attached chute. (C) Delivery/pick­up of control units celerometer was approximately 17.4 lb. C­145 ramp airdrops
via simulated vehicle of opportunity. (D) Coolers loaded with four were required to meet a 28 lb per square foot (psf) minimum
WB units, four cooling packs, and one accelerometer. (E) Close­up of
the loaded cooler for the C­145 drop showing 10­lb weight. (F) Post­ in accordance with Air Force Technical Order (TO) 13C7­
airdrop bundle inspection. 1­11. Bundles were 8 pounds short; therefore, 10­lb weights

10 | JSOM Volume 22, Edition 3 / Fall 2022