O Rwanda has launched the first Blood Delivery System by Drones, which will be used to supply blood to patients in remote areas of the country. The Drones that were created by Zipline, will begin blood delivery at 21 transfusion facilities in the western part of Rwanda, where poor roads and health infrastructure often hamper the arrival of patients in need.
These Drones can fly up to 150 km (round trip), and carry up to 1,5 kg of blood. Hospitals can order blood through a text message and will have the blood in a container that will have a parachute on site, within an average of 15 minutes, eliminating the need for onboard refrigeration or isolation.
Zipline started its first blood deliveries this week, and plans to expand to eastern Rwanda early next year. It is also worth noting that the company is studying the probabilities of the system being used to supply vaccines and other medicines.
This is certainly a system that the Ministry of Health of Angola could adopt to get the blood or medicines in the critical areas of access in the national territory, we would certainly save more lives.
Here's how the system works in Rwanda:
