Florida First Responders Prepare for Drone-Delivered Blood Transfusions

First responders in Florida could soon administer whole blood transfusions directly at emergency scenes under a groundbreaking program expected to launch this fall, pending local regulatory approval.

Tampa General Hospital, in partnership with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, announced plans to deploy drones designed to transport whole blood to severe trauma incidents across a 70-square-mile territory.

Operations will begin out of HCFR Station 9, serving the Faulkenburg and Sabal Park area and Station 37 in Riverview — locations selected due to a high frequency of penetrating trauma and severe bleeding cases.

“The golden hour of trauma care has always started at the hospital door until now,” Michele Moran, senior vice president for emergency services at TGH, said. “This program puts whole blood directly into the hands of first responders before a patient ever reaches us, moving that critical window to the scene of the emergency itself.”

Under the protocol, 911 dispatchers handling calls involving extreme blood loss will route emergency crews to the location while simultaneously dispatching a drone. The service aims to reduce average transit time for blood products to less than three minutes, allowing field paramedics to initiate transfusions before hospital transport.

“Our crews are often first at the scene of an accident,” Chief Todd Carnell with the rescue division of HCFR said. “This program puts an essential, lifesaving resource directly in our hands at the scene, giving our first responders more tools to improve the chances of survival of a patient in crisis.”

While HCFR personnel will manage drone operations, logistics infrastructure will be supplied by OneBlood and Archer First Response Systems. Additional project partners include the Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services and the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine, according to Tampa General Hospital.

“As Florida's premiere academic health system and a world-class Level I trauma center, Tampa General offers patients in crisis the best chances at the best possible outcome,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General, Florida Health Sciences Center. “But we refuse to settle for the status quo, which is why we invest in the latest technologies and pursue innovative solutions to reach patients faster with the equipment and care they need.”

The initiative is slated to start service in October 2026. The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to vote on authorizing the potential start date during its Sept. 2 meeting.