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Blood delivery by drone
Tampa General Hospital is partnering with local emergency organizations to launch a blood drone delivery program in Hillsborough County. The initiative could begin as early as October. FOX 13's Danielle Zulkosky reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa General Hospital is partnering with local emergency organizations to launch a blood drone delivery program in Hillsborough County. The initiative could begin as early as October.
Tampa drone delivery program
What we know:
Trained emergency medical service personnel will evaluate patients in the field to determine when whole blood is needed.
"They're there with the patient, seeing what they see, making their appropriate trained clinical determinations and then asking for that blood to be delivered," said Dr. David Wein, the vice chief of emergency medicine at TGH.
Hillsborough blood delivery range
By the numbers:
The delivery program will cover 70 square miles in total. Operations will be headquartered at two Hillsborough Fire EMS locations, with each site covering 35 square miles.
Emergency trauma patient care
Why you should care:
The drones will deliver whole blood to trauma patients facing life-threatening emergencies in the field, including car crashes, shootings and stabbings.
"The sooner we can stabilize their hemodynamics, the sooner we can improve their blood pressure and their heart rate, the better survival they have," Wein said. "And we know we can do that with whole blood better."
Local medical drone partners
Big picture view:
TGH is collaborating with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services, OneBlood, and Archer First Response System.
"We're trying to push that out to get it as soon as possible to the patients rather than reserving it for the patient once they arrive to the hospital," Wein said. "I think the number of lives that could be saved if this works well is incredible."
National emergency response future
What we don't know:
Officials have not yet confirmed the exact start date in October for the initial drone flights. Medical experts plan to study the results of the pilot program to share insights with hospitals and emergency services nationwide.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Tampa General Hospital, which provided program details, as well as interviews conducted by FOX 13's Danielle Zulkosky.