Drones used for blood transport: soon a reality in Quebec?

Using drones to transport blood is an idea that is being studied more and more around the world, particularly in Quebec, but it is still far from becoming a reality in the province.

A recent study from Concordia University highlighted the use of drones to transport blood donations more quickly from collection sites to laboratories. 

PhD student Amirhossein Abbaszadeh and Hossein Hashemi Doulabi, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering, examined how these devices could be used in support of mobile blood collection units.

They have thus devised a model where drones could take off from mobile units that travel to several collection points and shuttle between these locations and the laboratory.

To test their theory, the researchers conducted a case study based on Quebec City. They identified 13 potential collection points and calculated the distance to the nearest laboratory.

According to them, drones would be a faster and more efficient way to transport blood samples and maintain their freshness rather than using ground transport.

Far from being a priority

This is not the first time the use of drones for blood transport has been studied in Quebec. In 2019, a test was conducted with simulated blood products delivered by drone to the roof of the Montreal General Hospital.

The researchers then compared the speed and efficiency of using a drone versus transport by vehicle. 

Danny Brouard, a researcher in the research department at Héma-Québec, was part of this team. However, he observed that the use of drones may not be so urgent for blood banks.

Mobile blood drives constitute the majority of Héma-Québec’s operations. Donations are sometimes collected far from the treatment facilities located in Montreal and Quebec City.

“We don’t travel for two or three donations, we travel for 100, 150, 200 donations per collection. So, it would be difficult to imagine the use of drones at that stage,” Brouard explained over the phone.

“Good old trucks meet the needs much better,” he added.

Blood donations are usually processed within 8 to 72 hours to go into inventory where they are kept before being sent to hospitals, which also have their own reserves.

“Here again, the drone has little relevance; it is enough to ensure that inventories are always at minimal levels,” stressed the Héma-Québec researcher.

He also mentioned that it can be expensive to employ qualified people to operate and maintain the drones.

Brouard, however, does not believe this is an idea to be completely dismissed. According to him, this type of transport would be more suitable for emergency situations involving a large number of victims.

“The military, too, would have an interest in developing such applications,” he suggested.

When asked about this, the Canadian Armed Forces responded by email that they did not use drones to deliver blood products to combat zones and deployed military personnel, “but this could change in the future.”

Drones also regularly come up on the table at research conferences, said  Brouard, who also praised the Concordia University study.

“There is always a session at each congress that deals almost specifically with the transport of blood products. Then there is a speaker, or two, who talks to us about drones, as being the future, as being a new solution,” he mentioned.

Perfecting the transport boxes

Although drones are not currently on the agenda for Héma-Québec, this does not mean that the organization is not seeking to improve the transport of blood products. 

Héma-Québec’s current challenge is to perfect the boxes where the blood goes after collection in order to transport blood products that are very sensitive to temperature variations.

And it’s far from a simple matter in Quebec, where temperatures can vary from -30 to 40 degrees Celsius, especially since blood must be kept at different temperatures depending on its final use.

For example, blood must be stored between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius to prepare platelet concentrates. As for packed red blood cells, these must be transported between 1 and 10 degrees Celsius.

All this while remembering that blood, at the time of collection, is at a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. The transport container must therefore also be able to cool it down.

“Smart” boxes would allow for a better traceability system by knowing where they are and when they will arrive at the laboratory. 

According to Brouard, this would help to optimize blood product processing operations.

This research to improve transport boxes is also being closely followed by other countries that are adapting to global warming, since Quebec is internationally recognized for this development of a cold chain.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews