Drones will soon be used to transport urgent blood samples between two London hospitals as part of a new collaborative pilot program between British startup Apian, Alphabet's drone company Wing, and the UK's National Health Service.
As part of a six-month trial program, the drones will deliver urgently needed blood samples to surgical patients at high risk of complications from bleeding disorders between Guy's and St. Thomas' hospitals in London in a time of less than two minutes instead of 30 minutes or more previously taken by van or motorbike, officials said.
Pilots are regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority, which oversees the relevant airspace.
The trial is likely to be a precursor to drone deliveries between other London hospitals, with similar trials planned for platelets.
The NHS has previously run trials in other parts of the UK and found no significant difference between blood delivered by drone and that delivered by van or motorbike.
Officials said carbon dioxide emissions from transporting blood will also be significantly reduced during the trial, as no electric or gasoline-powered vehicles will be needed.
Apian and Wing previously partnered on drone medical deliveries in Dublin, Ireland, and Apian is testing medical drone deliveries in rural areas of the UK.
“Drones will make healthcare logistics more responsive and resilient, improving clinician productivity and helping patients get the care they need sooner,” Apian co-founder Dr Hamad Jeilani said in a statement. “Starting with this innovative trial, the NHS drone delivery network in London will provide on-demand, automated and sustainable deliveries, helping the NHS build a more efficient working model and enabling doctors and nurses to provide the highest quality care to their patients.”
Jeilani is certainly “thrown in” when it comes to civilian drone use – his parents came to the UK as refugees from Afghanistan – and he previously said: “There's no one on this planet who wants to see drones used in a better way more than me.”
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.