BELLEVUE, Wash. -- At Overlake Hospital, where every second counts, blood bank coordinator Andrea Nordmark shows us something new.
"It stores up to 150 units of blood," said Nordmark as she shows us the hospital's new "HemoSafe" machine. The machine has a design similar to that of a vending machine.
Nordmark said the technology significantly cuts down the time it takes to get patients life saving blood transfusions.
"It cuts a half an hour to an hour," said Nordmark.
Overlake is the first in King County to get the blood vending machine. Technicians use it up to 70 times a day.
"Before this we were relying on a courier service to deliver the units to us, now the units are already here," said Nordmark. "It's safer because it's giving us one unit at a time."
Dr. James Aubuchon of the Puget Sound Blood Center had read about the machines, and it was his idea to bring them to King County. All hospitals in King County will eventually get them.
"It allows us to make use of the limited resource of medical technologists because there aren't enough medical technologists out there," said Aubuchon.
This new system reminds Nordmark why she got into this business.
"Particularly for trauma patients, they come and they're bleeding, we can get them blood very, very fast."
The Puget Sound Blood Center is purchasing all of the machines for the King County hospitals. Swedish Hospital is the latest to receive one.
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