A drone delivers its first kidney to the American Medical Center

WASHINGTON: The UAV of the University of Maryland has announced that a new kidney needed for transplantation had been delivered by drone, which could allow for faster and safer organ transport.

The specially designed high-tech drone was equipped with equipment to monitor the kidney throughout its five-kilometer journey to its intended recipient – a 44-year-old woman from Baltimore who had spent eight years in dialysis before the procedure.

The drone, which required special clearance from aviation regulators, took off at 19:00 in the morning and flew at a height of 120 meters about 10 minutes before landing at its destination.

Dr. Joseph Scalea, who was part of the team of surgeons who performed the transplant, praised the success of the project and said that drone deliveries could help to overcome the delays that destroy the viability of the drones. an organ.

"The next race could be more than 30 miles, or 100. The distance is relatively unimportant," he told AFP on Wednesday (May 1). "The most important thing is that we have been able to integrate drone technology into the current transplant and transport system."

Current transportation methods involve expensive charter flights or even variable commercial flights, sometimes resulting in delays and typically costing around US $ 5,000.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, nearly 114,000 people were on the waiting lists for an organ transplant in the United States in 2018.

About 1.5% of dead donor organ collections did not reach the intended destination, while nearly 4% of organ harvesting had an unplanned delay of two hours or more.

Scalea, who founded a company that manages the data for organ shipments, compared the system to an Uber-type service that would ultimately prove less expensive.