Front line soldiers will be able to access blood transfusions using freeze-dried plasma The lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan on the treatment of badly hurt casualties requiring blood have been heeded 4 March 2021 • 8:00pm Results have shown that bleeding casualties who received a blood transfusion before reaching hospital achieved better outcomes Credit: News Scans Soldiers will be able to receive blood transfusions on the front line by Army paramedics for the first time, as a result of freeze-dried plasma. As part of the new Blood Far Forward initiative, being used on Operation MINUSMA, the UN's peacekeeping mission in Mali, troops are leaving bases armed with bottles of dried plasma that they can mix with water and administer to a soldier in the event of an emergency.