The Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance has won an award for its research into the first 10 months of carrying blood on board the helicopters. At the world’s leading aeromedical conference AirMed, it won best research poster and a cash prize of 1000 euros for the helicopter emergency medical service. The life saving charity relies almost entirely on donations and their research has shown that on average blood was given 85 minutes earlier than before the service was launched. In the first 10 months of the service doctors and paramedics performed 54 emergency blood transfusions on board the air ambulances. This advance medical procedure would previously have been performed later on in hospital.