Drones now fly blood to trauma scenes in three minutes

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and Tampa General Hospital launched the nation's first EMS-driven drone program to fly whole blood directly to the scene of a trauma, with live operations beginning in October. Two drone systems will cover roughly 70 square miles and deliver blood in under three minutes on average, letting first responders start transfusions before a patient reaches a hospital. When a 911 call involves severe blood loss, crews can request a drone the moment they are dispatched. "The golden hour of trauma care has always started at the hospital door, until now," said Michele Moran, senior vice president for emergency services at Tampa General. The program runs out of Station 9 near Sabal Park and Station 37 in Riverview, the areas with the highest volume of hemorrhagic injuries. A drone took flight at a recent demonstration. It carried blood, not packages, which is a newer thing for a drone to be good at.