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Drone completes longest organ delivery in Las Vegas

Drone solution provider MissionGO has completed the longest organ delivery by drone in Las Vegas last week with the Nevada Donor Network. The two test flights were carrying a human organ and tissue to various locations around Las Vegas.

The first of the two flights was transporting research corneas from the Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center to Dignity Health at the St. Rose Dominican, San Martín Campus. The flight demonstrated the viability, value, efficiency gains, and delivery speed of using drones to deliver organs and medical supplies.

The second flight delivered a research kidney from an airport to a location on the outskirts of a small town in the Las Vegas desert. This second flight was the one that marked the longest organ delivery by drone. The flight beat the previous record that was set in April 2019 also by MissionGO.

Anthony Pucciarella, MissionGO President said:

“These flights are an exciting step forward – the research conducted during last week’s test flights are another data point to illustrate that unmanned aircraft are a reliable mode of transportation for life-saving cargo and that MissionGO’s UAS are safe for both the payload and people on the ground – even at greater distances. We are grateful to be testing our technology with our partners at the Nevada Donor Network and look forward to what we can achieve together with more research like this.”

As both test flights were successful, they have allowed a new discussion to take place around an alternative method to shipping organs interstate by drone. The hope is to use a combination of drones and other transportation methods to speed up the delivery while reducing the carbon footprint of the delivery. The use of drones also means fewer hands will touch the organs during the delivery, which is always a benefit.

Joe Ferreira, CEO and President of Nevada Donor Network followed with:

“The success of last week’s tests launches us into the future of organ transportation and will enable us to be even more successful in the coming years. The work we’re doing now to maximize the gift of life and health can only be amplified with the services that MissionGO demonstrated. The future of organ donation and transplantation will be defined by innovation.”

MissionGO’s sister company MediGO is working to improve the transport of organs across all modes of transportation. MediGO’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Joseph Scalea, tested the kidney and corneas before and after the drone flights to see what effect it had on them and to come up with better ways to transport organs in the future. MissionGO also has more flights planned for later this year and in 2021 with the hope to see the drones flying further.

Photo: MissionGO

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Avatar for Joshua Spires Joshua Spires

Josh started in the drone community in 2012 with a drone news Twitter account. Over the years Josh has gained mass exposure from his aerial photography work and spends his days writing drone content for DroneDJ as well as pursuing his business.


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