MissionGO Completes Longest Organ Delivery Flight via Unmanned Aircraft in the World
LAS VEGAS, September 22, 2020 – MissionGO, a provider of unmanned aviation solutions that are transforming logistics, and Nevada Donor Network, an organ procurement organization (OPO) serving the state of Nevada, today announced two successful test flights carrying a human organ and tissue via an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) on Sept. 17.
The first flight transported research corneas from Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center to Dignity Health – St. Rose Dominican, San Martín Campus. This flight successfully demonstrates the viability, value, efficiency gains, and delivery speed of lifesaving medical supplies and organs via UAS within an urban environment.
The second flight, which delivered a research kidney from an airport to a location outside of a small town in the Las Vegas desert, marked the longest organ delivery flight in UAS history. This flight surpassed the distance of a historic flight in April 2019 when MissionGO team members Anthony Pucciarella and Ryan Henderson, in their roles at the University of Maryland UAS Test Site and in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center, delivered the first kidney by UAS that was then successfully transplanted into a patient.
“These flights are an exciting step forward – the research conducted during last week’s test flights are another data point to illustrate that unmanned aircraft are a reliable mode of transportation for life-saving cargo, and that MissionGO’s UAS are safe for both the payload and people on the ground – even at greater distances,” said Anthony Pucciarella, MissionGO President. “We are grateful to be testing our technology with our partners at the Nevada Donor Network and look forward to what we can achieve together with more research like this.”
