In times of war and natural disaster, drones could be the fastest and most efficient way to get blood products and medicines to hospitals in the periphery and to IDF in the field.
On the morning of March 28, an autonomous drone carrying 3.8 kilograms (8.4 lbs.) of blood took off at 9:42 in the morning from Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. It landed 13 minutes later on the grounds of Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, close to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. The blood units were carefully checked after the 25.2-kilometer (15.7-mile) journey in the air and found to be in perfect condition and ready for use.
The March 28 flight is part of a pilot project involving several medical organizations and governmental bodies looking into the feasibility of transferring blood and other critical medical supplies to hospitals by drone. The hope is that this would become standard practice, especially for medical centers in the country’s periphery that could become cut off in times of war and natural disaster. . .
“We needed to see if the blood would fare as well when transported by drone as it does when transported by ground vehicle,” said [Magen David Adom’s ] National Blood Services Director Prof. Eilat Shinar.
Magen David Adom is the sole supplier of blood to Israeli hospitals and the IDF. Hospitals are required to keep 120 percent of their blood needs on hand at any given time. To prevent a national shortage, Israel requires 1,100 units of blood to be donated per day.
Shinar explained that the three different blood components cannot be transferred in the same package due to the varying conditions in which they must be stored.
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