1st medical drone delivery program

The first-ever medical drone delivery pilot program approved by the Federal Aviation Administration took flight in March from WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, N.C., pioneering the delivery of samples, including blood, the hospital’s surgical center and the primary testing lab on its main campus. In the following weeks, the supplies-run made daily flights, which could eventually transport life-saving products to rural locations. The flights are conducted through a partnership between United Parcel Service and the California-based drone manufacturer Matternet, which is overseen by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the FAA's Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Pilot Program. "It was not a demo, it was not a test, it was the real deal,” transportation department spokesman James Pearce told UPI. The three-year pilot program seeks to safely test the integration of drones into commercial airspace. (Source: UPI 04/24/19)