Residents who don't want to participate in the study can obtain a blue-colored bracelet from the hospitals, indicating they don't want to be involved.

"I guess you can hang it from the mirror of your car, you can put it on your wrist so you could say, 'I don't want to participate,' " Morris said of the bracelets. "So that no one who really doesn't want to participate in the study wouldn't inadvertently participate."

Before the trial begins at either hospital, it must be approved by the hospitals' institutional review boards. If approved, AirMed, Life Flight and first-responder crews from Salt Lake City, West Valley City and Sandy will use PolyHeme during the yearlong study.

PolyHeme is manufactured by Northfield Laboratories, Inc. of Evanston, Ill., and is in its third phase of study.

Summers said he has seen many patients who weren't able to survive, even after they made it to the hospital, because they didn't get a product that had oxygen-carrying capability. He said oxygen is critical for organs and the organ systems.

"This particular product is going to make a lot of difference for us," Summers said. "Bottom line, we're going to save more lives."

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E-mail: nclemens@desnews.com