02 May 2023 , 18:38
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Five lives have been saved thanks to bleed-control packs funded in memory of 12-year-old Ava White who was stabbed to death in a row.
After her death in Liverpool in 2021, mum Leeann, 40, set up the Ava White Foundation, raising funds to install 37 kits in the city.
Nik Misra, a trauma surgeon at Aintree Hospital, said: “We have five documented cases where people employed the bleeding control
techniques, and bandages and dressings inside to help people who were bleeding and that person has survived.”
Calling on them to be installed nationwide, he added: “[People] can see a cabinet. They can see what to do, ring 999, get instructions. It will make a difference.”
Ava was stabbed in the neck by a 14-year-old boy following a row at a Christmas lights switch-on in the city centre.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Ava's mother Leeann (Merseyside Police)Her mum and sister Mia, 19, have raised over £2,000 for the Foundation. They estimate they need a further £3,000 to hit their target of 50 bleed packs.
They are being set up in pubs, clubs and churches and can be used before emergency crews arrive.
Speaking at a training session, Leeann said: “It’s really bittersweet. It’s good that we’re highlighting it and getting it out there but then it’s come at the cost of Ava losing her life. If the kits were available at that time, it could have saved Ava.”
Ava’s family has started a petition calling for the packs to be a legal requirement across the UK.
Ava’s murderer, who cannot be named due to his age, was sentenced to at least 13 years last June.