The national trial that involved Douglas, Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties is complete, University of Kansas Hospital and Medical Center officials said last week.

Area ambulances first stocked up on the synthetic blood manufactured by Northfield Laboratories in January as part of a clinical trial to evaluate the product’s safety and efficacy on critically injured and bleeding patients.

The study involved 720 patients nationwide.

The study compared the survival rate of patients receiving PolyHeme with that of patients who receive the current standard of care, which is saline solution followed, in the hospital, by donated blood, when needed.

In a statement, Michael Moncure, the principal investigator, said study protocols prohibit KU Hospital and Medical Center from releasing any numbers of enrollees locally.

“There were no safety issues from the use of PolyHeme at our site,” he added.