We’ve written about unmanned aircraft aka drones delivering medical supplies to remote areas and emergency sites, We also covered an FAA-approved drone delivery service, blood delivery, and the first transplant donor kidney drone delivery in Maryland. In mid-September, Las Vegas-based MissionGo announced two successful unmanned aviation system (UAS) deliveries of human tissue and a human organ.

The two MissionGo flights demonstrated two UAS capabilities: urban environment transport and long-distance deliveries. The first drone delivery carried research corneas between two Las Vegas hospitals. This flight underscores the efficiency and speed of direct delivery by unmanned aircraft. The second flight carried a research kidney from a Las Vegas airport to a small town in the desert, surpassing the distance traveled during the last year’s Maryland kidney delivery. The Maryland and Nevada flights were conducted by MissionGo personnel worked with local partners.

MissionGo plans to continue UAS test flights in 2021. MissionGo worked with different organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the Maryland and Nevada tests to ensure efficient and safe handling of the cargo. Future MissionGo test flights with OPOs in other regions will help spread the message and the experience of the potential benefits of organ delivery via drones.