The donor kidney was first delivered by a drone

Drones can deliver donor organsrecipients faster than traditional transportation methods, which increases the likelihood that the organs will still be “fit” by the time they reach their goal. Last week, a drone delivered a donor kidney from a hospital to surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center five kilometers away. Then the kidney was successfully transplanted to a patient with renal insufficiency. This is the first time that a drone was used to deliver an organ to a transplant.

Drones and donors

The 44-year-old woman from Baltimore became the kidney recipient, who spent seven years on dialysis before the procedure. A few days later she was discharged.

The drone was a specially builtmodel with eight rotors for stability. The university has created a special apparatus capable of measuring and maintaining temperature, atmospheric pressure, altitude, vibration and location in order to ensure that the organ will be in the best possible condition during flight.

Before the test, the research team preparedsaline, blood supplies and other materials. However, this is not the first time that a drone is used to deliver medical supplies that must be kept in carefully controlled conditions. For example, drones have already delivered drugs to Ghana and vaccines to Vanuatu.

However, the transport of organs is especially sensitive. Organs can survive only a few hours outside the body, so timing is crucial. Perhaps the drones will be the only normal solution in this case.

Even more interesting stories about organs read in our Zen.