Tampa General Hospital to Launch Whole Blood Drone Delivery Program

Tampa General Hospital (TGH) is preparing to deploy the country’s first EMS-driven drone delivery program for prehospital whole blood. The program is a partnership between TGH, OneBlood, University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine and EMS partner agencies.

When a 911 call involves severe bleeding, emergency responders can request deployment of a drone carrying whole blood. The two drone systems will deliver blood directly to emergency scenes across a combined 70-square-mile area of Hillsborough County, Fla. The organizations expect the drones to deliver blood to the scene in under three minutes on average.

The program is scheduled to begin in October, subject to approval by the Hillsborough County Commission. The initial deployment will serve two fire stations in areas with the highest volume of penetrating trauma and hemorrhagic injuries, with plans to expand coverage based on data and findings from the pilot program.