Riverview fire station to launch drones that deliver blood to emergencies
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue showed a drone whole blood program that will fly from Fire Station 37.
From our October archiveOriginally dated
Published
On Oct. 1, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue (HCFR) demonstrated a drone program that delivers whole blood to emergency scenes. One of the two drones will operate from Fire Station 37 in Riverview.
The other drone will operate from Fire Station 9 in Sabal Park. The two areas cover a combined 70 square miles of unincorporated Hillsborough County.
The program is for patients with severe blood loss who may need an immediate transfusion. Paramedics can request a unit of whole blood at the scene. The drone carries the blood in a temperature-controlled unit.
HCFR says the process will take three-and-a-half minutes or less from the request until the patient gets the blood. Most ambulances do not carry whole blood.
The program targets serious traffic crashes, trauma incidents and other emergencies with life-threatening blood loss. HCFR calls it the nation's first EMS drone delivery program for pre-hospital whole blood.
HCFR worked on the program for more than two years. Partners are Archer First Response Systems, a Sarasota-based company, and Tampa General Hospital.
The county said live operations were expected to begin in the coming weeks. HCFR says the first year will serve as a proof-of-concept. HCFR hopes to expand the program throughout Hillsborough County.