Exploration of the application of drones in blood emergency support

Objective To explore the application of drones in blood emergency support during the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou in Shaoxing venue, so as to provide reference for future major events. Methods A retrospective analysis of drone delivery of emergency blood to two designated rescue hospitals in Shaoxing for the Asian Games was conducted. Ten emergency and 30 routine land blood delivery records from two designated hospitals in 2023 were randomly selected to compare with the blood delivery using drones. The blood temperature during the drone flight were monitored, the cold chain control during drone flight was evaluated, and the application of drone flight was reviewed. Results During the Hangzhou Asian Games, a total of 14 drones were used for blood delivery. The delivery time(min) by drone from the blood station to one of the designated hospitals was 11.83±0.09, and 20.80±3.29 by emergency land delivery and 23.23±3.54 by routine land delivery (P<0.05), meanwhile was 17.50±0.08, 24.50±3.27 and 26.57±3.23 respectively to the other hospital(P<0.05). Compared with land emergency blood delivery and routine blood delivery, blood delivery time by drone was much shorter, demonstrating better timeliness and stability. The temperature monitoring during the drone delivering showed that the suspended red blood cells and platelets were in a range of 3.8-6.8℃ and 21.8-22.8℃, with a temperature difference of 0.5-0.9 ℃ and 0.2-1.0℃ between takeoff and landing respectively, demonstrating that the blood cold chain was under control, and the delivery ran safely and smoothly. Conclusion During major events, the use of drones for emergency blood delivery ensures the quality of the blood, with good timeliness, feasibility and operability, and is worthy of promotion and application.