Transporting Blood using Drones

This article evaluates the immense potential of transporting medical supplies, such as blood, using drones by evaluating the successful case study of Zipline in Rwanda, where blood and other medical supplies, such as vaccines, are transported using drones, eliminating limitations caused by the lack of transport infrastructure and a short shelf life

A drone dropping a parcel of blood mid-flight for collection and use by local hospitals. Image provided by Material Handling and Logistics

It starts with a beep. A technician jumps into action, retrieving the urgently needed blood units and securing them inside a drone. It’s lined up for launch, poised like a sprinter waiting for the gun. And then whoosh! It’s catapulted into the sky at 100 km/h, cutting through the air with breathtaking precision.

The destination? A rural hospital, where a mother fighting for her life after childbirth is losing blood fast. The roads leading there are treacherous, but none of that matters because this drone isn’t bound by land. 

Just 30 minutes later, it reaches its target. The package is released, gliding gently to the ground via parachute. The hospital staff rushes to retrieve it, and soon, the life-saving transfusion begins. 

Another life saved, just like that.

A Race Against Time

In remote hospitals and clinics, getting the right medical supplies at the right time can mean the difference between life and death. Blood is particularly tricky: 

Whole blood has a shelf life of only 21 days, and platelets last a mere five days. Furthermore, hospitals typically overstock on blood supplies in the event of a catastrophic event, such as a natural disaster, causing a lot of waste and increasing costs. For developing countries like Rwanda, draining money like that is not possible. Moreover, unreliable road networks and logistical bottlenecks make timely transport nearly impossible. Especially in Rwanda, this issue is worse. Being widely known as the land of a thousand hills, this makes transport of medical supplies difficult, particularly in rainy seasons.

That’s where Zipline has flipped the script. Based in California, Zipline was founded in 2014 -  In 2023, Zipline delivered a total of 28,754 units of blood to patients in Rwanda in critical condition, the majority of whom were women in critical moments of delivery. This reduced the fatality of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) in Rwanda by 51%. It has also significantly reduced the waste of blood supplies and, by extension, the cost of healthcare services.

How? Well, instead of traditionally relying on trucks, Zipline’s drones take off within minutes of an order, slashing delivery times from hours to minutes.

How the Magic Happens

According to an article by IEEE Spectrum, a hospital sends a request, sometimes through something as simple as a WhatsApp message. Zipline’s software instantly calculates the fastest flight route. A technician prepares the supplies, loads them into the drone, informs Rwanda Central Air Traffic Control and, within minutes, it’s in the air, flying at high speeds toward its destination.

Unlike traditional delivery drones, Zipline’s aircraft aren’t quadcopters. Instead, they are designed like small planes, with a fixed-wing structure that makes them faster and capable of traveling long distances. Once airborne, the drone follows a GPS-programmed path, adjusting in real time to wind and weather conditions. Best yet? No pilot is needed.

When it arrives at its target, the drone doesn’t need to land. Instead, it drops its cargo with pinpoint accuracy using a biodegradable paper parachute. The hospital staff simply retrieves the package and gets to work. 

When the drone returns, two 10-meter-high arms rotate swiftly to hold onto the metal hook below the Zip’s tail to slow its descent and bring it back to land (similar to the way planes land on aircraft carriers).

What Makes These Drones So Special?

Firstly, the lightweight carbon-fiber frame keeps them agile, allowing them to travel long distances on minimal power. 

Next, AI-powered navigation system ensures safe and precise routing, even in unpredictable weather, maintaining the consistency and reliability of these drones. For more accurate flight controls, each drone is also equipped with dual motors and redundant ailerons.

Lastly, the unique parachute drop system allows for quick deliveries with little damage to the blood package itself, which has been wrapped snugly in bubble wrap to cushion its fall.

Challenges

Despite Zipline’s success, it has its challenges. 

Firstly, weather still remains a formidable opponent, particularly in regions prone to heavy rainstorms. While the drones are built to withstand winds up to 50 km/h, extreme conditions can delay flights. 

Next, payload limitation. Each drone can carry only 1.8 kilograms of cargo, meaning they’re perfect for transporting blood and small medical supplies, but not larger medical equipment.

Regulations pose another hurdle. Many countries have strict airspace laws that weren’t designed with autonomous drones in mind. For Rwanda, this isn’t a problem because their air traffic is not busy. For developed countries, however, this poses a major concern. 

Lastly, Zipline is able to work so well in Rwanda due to Rwanda’s high population density and small land mass. This allows the drone to reach hospitals quickly without needing to be re-charged. Unfortunately, this simply is not the case for larger, more developed countries. This means that, while Zipline has been proven to be successful, there are still notable concerns about whether Zipline can scale-up to cater to larger countries and populations.

What’s Next?

So far, Zipline has completed more than 500,000 deliveries, covering over 40 million autonomous miles - but this is only the beginning. 

Every time one of these drones launches, it’s more than just a flight. It’s a lifeline. The next frontier could include organ transplants, emergency first-aid kits for accident sites, and rapid-response deliveries for disaster relief. Engineers are currently working on larger drones with greater carrying capacity, ensuring that even more critical supplies can be transported efficiently, as well as better navigation systems and stronger batteries for more efficient flights.

Imagine a world where a heart for transplant arrives via drone in record time, where vaccines reach outbreak zones within minutes, where no life is lost because of slow logistics. 

That’s the future Zipline is building.