Belgium first in EU with blood delivery test by passenger drone

The country has been a pioneer when it comes to integrating these flying machines into the healthcare system

On Tuesday, Belgium became the first European country to carry out a successful delivery of blood products through an unmanned passenger drone. The event itself was a 1-km test flight at the DronePort test airspace in Sint-Truiden.

This is a milestone moment for the field of medical transportation as it can revolutionize the speedy and efficient delivery of life-saving tissues and materials where they are needed.

Before it can become a widely implemented reality, however, there is still work that needs to be done in the EU institutions to hammer out the legislative details.

As you can see, technology and innovation move faster than regulations," said Hilde Vautmans, Sint-Truiden alderman and Member of the European Parliament. "Surely we in Europe have to ensure that we can follow the development of this technology and innovation because the applications here can be huge".

The drone flight followed a pre-designed flight path. Safety pilots on the ground closely monitored the flight and were on standby, but no intervention was needed.

The two-seat aircraft (Ehang 216 AAV made by EHang Holdings Limited) can stay airborne for half an hour and develop speeds of up to 130 km/h.

Belgium was the first to transport human tissue by drone, too

The small European country, and more specifically, the drone operator Helicus, are pioneers when it comes to medical transportation. Last year, in August, the company performed the first drone flight taking human tissue samples between two hospitals in Antwerp.

The flight in question was a first in the sense that the drone was allowed to fly above the city and outside the pilot's sight.

Test flights like these are intended to further develop the procedural side and share experiences with the European bodies that are currently preparing the next set of legislation.