Drone-based delivery preserves blood integrity and significantly cuts down on transit time, according to a recent ICMR study.

An ICMR study demonstrated that drones can safely transport blood, even in remote locations and challenging terrain, without compromising the integrity of blood components and characteristics. In a feasibility study to assess the viability and efficiency of drone-based blood transportation, the drone covered about 36 kilometers in eight minutes, compared to about 55 minutes for a van.

In contrast to conventional delivery techniques, the study "Adopting drone technology for blood delivery: a feasibility study to evaluate its efficiency and sustainability" attempted to ascertain how drone delivery impacts the post-transit safety and purity of blood components. Drones may one day be used to deliver other critical and urgent medical supplies, such as pharmaceuticals or emergency medications, according to a study published in the Springer Nature magazine.

Transfusions of blood and blood components may save a patient's life in situations such as hemorrhagic shock, operations, and accidents. According to the study, blood components are not always easily accessible and cannot be transferred to the required location, even in the finest resource circumstances.

Transporting blood and its constituents is challenging since they must be kept at a certain temperature to maintain their functionality, which includes significantly lowering blood's capacity to carry oxygen. According to the study, managing and transporting blood and its constituent parts is a challenging undertaking because of the strict storage conditions, short shelf life, erratic requirements, and complicated geographic and climatic conditions.