Hillsborough Demonstrates First-in-the-Nation Drone Blood Delivery Program

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue has demonstrated what it describes as the nation’s first emergency medical services drone-delivery program for pre-hospital whole blood. The program is designed to bring a temperature-controlled unit of whole blood directly to paramedics treating a patient with severe blood loss, allowing a transfusion to begin before the patient reaches a hospital. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue developed the concept through more than two years of work in its Rescue Division, in partnership with Tampa General Hospital and Sarasota-based Archer First Response Systems. The first year will serve as a proof of concept, and the County says live operations are expected to begin in the coming weeks. The program is intended for serious traffic crashes, trauma incidents, and other emergencies in which blood loss can quickly become life-threatening.

When a paramedic determines that whole blood is needed, a drone request can be placed and the aircraft will carry the sealed, temperature-controlled unit to the emergency scene. Fire Rescue says the goal is three-and-a-half minutes or less from the request until blood is administered. Initial operations will cover a combined 70 square miles in unincorporated Hillsborough County, with one drone based at Fire Station 9 in Sabal Park and another at Fire Station 37 in Riverview. The focused launch areas are designed to help bridge the distance challenge in a county where paramedics serve about 900 square miles and most ambulances do not carry whole blood. Hillsborough County plans to share lessons from the proof of concept and hopes eventually to expand drone-delivered whole blood across the county. Because this is an ongoing program preparing for live operations, its status is Active.