As part of a new joint pilot programme with a UK startup Of beeAlphabet’s drone company To theand the UK’s National Health Service will soon use drones to transport urgent blood samples between two London hospitals.
As part of the six-month pilot programme, drones will deliver urgently needed blood samples for surgical patients (at high risk of complications from bleeding disorders) between Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Deliveries that previously took more than 30 minutes by van or motorbike could now be made in less than two minutes, officials said.
The pilot will be regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority, which will oversee the airspace in question.
The pilot project is likely to be a prelude to other types of drone deliveries being carried out at other London hospitals. A similar trial for blood platelets is being planned.
The NHS has previously Trials have been conducted elsewhere in the UK and no significant differences were found between blood transported by drone and blood transported by van or motorbike.
Officials said CO2 emissions associated with supplying blood will also be drastically reduced during the trial, as no electric or gasoline-powered vehicles will be needed.
Apian and Wing have previously partnered to use drones for medical deliveries in Dublin, Ireland, and Apian has tested drone medical deliveries in rural areas of the UK
In a statement, Dr Hammad Jeilani, co-founder of Apian, said: “Drones can increase the responsiveness and resilience of healthcare logistics, enabling doctors to be more productive and patients to receive the care they need sooner. An NHS drone delivery network in London, starting with this ground-breaking trial, will provide on-demand, automated and sustainable deliveries, helping the NHS create more efficient working models and our doctors and nurses to deliver the highest quality care to patients.”
Jeilani certainly has a lot at stake when it comes to civilian drone use. His parents came to the UK as refugees from Afghanistan, and he has said before that “there is no one on this planet who would like more to see drones used in a better way.”
Apian raised £5 million in seed funding in 2022 from a number of venture investors including LocalGlobe and KHP Ventures, the first venture fund founded and backed by the NHS.