Tampa General Hospital is set to become the first in the nation to deploy drones for the delivery of life-saving blood to emergency scenes. The program, scheduled to launch in October pending county commission approval, aims to significantly reduce the time it takes to get blood to patients experiencing catastrophic injuries.
When a 911 call indicates a patient with severe blood loss, emergency responders will be dispatched to the scene. Simultaneously, drones armed with whole blood will be deployed. This allows first responders to begin transfusions at the scene of the emergency, potentially improving survival rates for hemorrhaging patients. The goal is to deliver blood within three minutes, a critical advancement in trauma care.
"The golden hour of trauma care has always started at the hospital door until now," Michele Moran, senior vice president for emergency services at Tampa General, stated. "This program puts whole blood directly into the hands of first responders before a patient ever reaches us, moving that critical window to the scene of the emergency itself."
The initiative will be implemented at two Hillsborough County Fire Rescue stations: Station 9 in the Faulkenburg and Sabal Park area and Station 37 in Riverview, chosen for their high rates of patients with traumatic blood loss injuries.
"Our crews are often first at the scene of an accident," said Chief Todd Carnell, rescue division chief of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. "This program puts an essential, lifesaving resource directly in our hands at the scene, giving our first responders more tools to improve the chances of survival of a patient in crisis."
The drone delivery system and services are provided by Archer First Response Systems and will be operated by Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. The program is a collaboration involving Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine, the Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services, and OneBlood.