Israel tests drone delivery for blood and other critical medical supplies
In times of war and natural disaster, drones could be the fastest and most efficient way to get blood products and medicines to hospitals in the periphery and to IDF in the field
Renee Ghert-Zand is the health reporter and a feature writer for The Times of Israel.
On the morning of March 28, an autonomous drone carrying 3.8 kilograms (8.4 lbs) of blood took off at 9:42 in the morning from Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. It landed 13 minutes later on the grounds of Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, close to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. The blood units were carefully checked after the 25.2-kilometer (15.7-mile) journey in the air and found to be in perfect condition and ready for use.
The March 28 flight is part of a pilot project involving several medical organizations and governmental bodies looking into the feasibility of transferring blood and other critical medical supplies to hospitals by drone. The hope is that this would become standard practice, especially for medical centers in the country’s periphery that could become cut off in times of war and natural disaster.
“When things heat up on the border, hundreds of rockets start flying. We could end up an isolated island for several days,” said Dr. Zvi Sheleg, Galilee Medical Center deputy director general.
Sheleg, director of the hospital’s innovation initiative, spoke to The Times of Israel on April 4, just a day before 34 rockets were fired toward Israel from Lebanon. Rockets have also been launched from the Gaza Strip, with both attacks attributed to Hamas. As of the writing of this article, it was unclear whether this round of conflict had ended.
According to Idita Israeli, innovation manager for the Governmental Medical Centers Directorate, the drone initiative began during the COVID pandemic with flights in and out of two geriatric, two psychiatric, and one general hospital in central Israel. The transfers were mainly of unregulated supplies like masks.
“When we saw that that worked, we decided we needed to experiment with transporting regulated, critical supplies like blood, lab tests, medications, and organs for transplant,” she said.
The first step in this new phase of the pilot is the transfer of blood and blood components by drone, with the cooperation of several key authorities. These include the Innovation Authority at the Governmental Medical Centers Directorate within the Health Ministry, Magen David Adom’s National Blood Services, the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel, Israel’s military and security apparatus, and private drone companies.
“We needed to see if the blood would fare as well when transported by drone as it does when transported by ground vehicle,” said National Blood Services director Prof. Eilat Shinar.
Magen David Adom is the sole supplier of blood to Israeli hospitals and the IDF. Hospitals are required to keep 120 percent of their blood needs on hand at any given time. To prevent a national shortage, Israel requires 1,100 units of blood to be donated per day.
Shinar explained that the three different blood components cannot be transferred in the same package due to the varying conditions in which they must be stored.
“Whole blood or anything that contains red blood cells must be packed with ice and maintained at a temperature between 2-8 degrees C. Platelets must be kept at 22 degrees, which is more or less room temperature. Plasma is kept at minus 30 degrees and must arrive at the hospital frozen,” Shinar said.
Generally speaking, in times of crisis, hospitals require red blood cell units and platelets. Whole blood expires 35-42 days after donation and platelets are good for only five days after donation. Plasma can last a year as long as it remains properly frozen.
The current experiment with blood began on May 3, 2022, when units were carried by drone a short distance from the MDA Central Blood Bank to Sheba Medical Center — both on the Tel Hashomer campus in Ramat Gan, just outside Tel Aviv.
After success with these short flights, the decision was made to try flying blood between Haifa and Nahariya last month. Additional runs of the same route will be made on April 17 and 18.
“Should everything go well, the plan is for us to present the results to the advisory committee on blood at the Health Ministry and request that drone transport become operational for transferring blood to all medical facilities, and even to the injured in the field,” Israeli said.
Israeli said that technology is advanced to the point where drones can travel 100-150 kilometers (62-93 miles) carrying tens of kilograms of weight. However, Shinar noted that even with the drone used on March 28, which has a maximum capacity of 10 kilograms (22 pounds), a significant amount of blood could be delivered in a single flight.
“We are talking about 50 units of platelets, 16 units of whole blood, or 32 units of packed red blood cells. That is enough for a hospital the size of Galilee Medical Center,” Shinar said.
Sheleg told The Times of Israel he imagines that a successful pilot could ultimately lead to “an army of drones” flying through Israel’s skies with supplies in mass casualties events.
“We could solve a lot of problems by using drones. We shouldn’t have to rely on helicopters, which will be busy doing other things,” Sheleg said.
Shinar pointed out that when snow storms hit cities with higher elevations like Jerusalem and Safed, it is nearly impossible to deliver blood.
“Drones would make a huge difference. Right now when Jerusalem is snowed-in, we have to use army vehicles to get from Latrun up the mountains to the capital to supply Hadassah and Shaare Zedek. It’s always a huge problem,” she said.
She’d like to see the next trial done with a drone flying from the Marcus National Blood Services Center in Ramla to Jerusalem. The Marcus Center, the world’s first subterranean, shielded national blood services center, was dedicated in May 2022.
According to Israeli, drones are crucial for getting blood and other sensitive medical supplies from the country’s center to the periphery, because they can steer clear of areas destroyed by a potential earthquake, tsunami, or flooding. Haifa’s chemical and gas industry is of particular concern.
“In the case of bombardment of Haifa or a gas or chemical explosion there, blood cannot be taken through or near the city by land vehicle for fear of contamination,” she said.
Sheleg noted that the possibility of flying drones over the Mediterranean could allow for avoiding obstacles over land.
Shinar sits on the advisory body of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent. In that capacity, she said she knows the difference blood delivery by drone has made in countries like Rwanda and Australia, where many communities are far away from large cities and medical centers.
The distances in Israel are much shorter, but its unique circumstances also call for quick and efficient delivery of blood and other medical supplies. Those involved in the pilot project hope the idea of using drones will fly with Health Ministry authorities.
