Tampa General Hospital is preparing to launch a drone delivery program designed to provide whole blood to emergency responders treating patients with severe bleeding before they reach the hospital.

Developed with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, USF Health, the Florida Center for Emergency Medical Services, OneBlood, and Archer First Response Systems, the program will operate from two fire-rescue stations serving areas with high volumes of penetrating trauma and hemorrhagic injuries.

When an eligible 911 call is received, dispatchers will be able to deploy a drone carrying whole blood while emergency crews travel to the scene. Two drone systems are expected to cover a combined 70-square-mile area, with average blood delivery times of less than three minutes.

The initiative would extend the healthcare supply chain directly to the site of an emergency, allowing qualified first responders to begin transfusions before transporting patients to the hospital. Data collected during the pilot will inform decisions about expanding its capacity and coverage.

The technology is scheduled to begin operating in October, subject to approval by the Hillsborough County Commission.