Researchers at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have had success using plasma to help trauma patients. Clinical studies done here in 2018 showed the use of plasma in trauma patients had a ten percent increase in survival rate. New researcher published in the journal "Cell Reports Medicine" say their new findings on a cellular level give them a better understanding of how the body's injury response works. Lead author Dr. Timothy Billiar, MD says this new information is "a trauma researcher's dream come true."

A six-year-old boy from Pine Richland is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Northern Regional Police Chief John Sicilia joins Rick to tell him about an open house the police are hosting to try and help find him a match. Go to bethematch.org to find out more information on the process. 

The holidays can be joyous, or they can be terribly painful. For those who have recently lost loved ones, the celebrations sometimes make it very difficult because grief comes flooding back. Tami Micsky is a professor at Slippery Rock in the Department of Public Health and Social Work. She joined the Rick Dayton Show on Tuesday to talk about how to deal with grief during the holidays.

Two months ago, getting an appointment for a PCR COVID test wasn't that difficult. Now you may have to wait weeks to see someone. Enter at-home COVID tests. They have recently been approved, and on Tuesday, President Biden said the US government will order 500 million at-home tests and make them available for free. Dr. Mark Itskowitz of Allegheny Health Network joins Rick to talk about the use of these tests.

All over the country, states are seeing their Covid numbers rise. Norm Mitry joins Rick to talk about the increase in cases that his hospital system is experiencing, the younger age of most of the patients, and what people can do to prevent the spread from getting out of hand.