AASHTO Journal - NASA Project Aims to Improve Donor Organ Transport

Every second counts in the life-saving world of medical transplants and to help address that urgency, NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, is teaming up with the non-profit United Network for Organ Sharing or UNOS to explore faster, more reliable ways to transport donor organs using advanced aviation technologies.

[Above photo by NASA]

While organs are routinely transported between cities by aircraft, ground logistics can introduce time-sensitive challenges, especially in congested or hard-to-reach areas.

Through a new Space Act Agreement between NASA and UNOS, NASA Langley will apply its aeronautics expertise and flight research capabilities to evaluate whether drones can help reduce those delays and improve delivery timelines – potentially improving medical outcomes.

The collaboration will focus on identifying key challenges in organ transportation and determining how NASA-developed tools such as advanced modeling, flight planning, sensing technologies, and safety systems can help – all while meeting meets medical field standards.

“This is a chance to apply NASA Langley technology to a real-world problem that can save people’s lives who are waiting for transplants,” said John Koelling, director of the Aeronautics Research Directorate at NASA Langley, in a statement. “There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing your technical work have a positive impact on people’s lives.”

The work also includes evaluating how drones perform when carrying sensitive biological materials in realistic environments, he noted.

The first test will be conducted using NASA Langley’s City Environment Range Testing for Autonomous Integrated Navigation, which provides a unique capability to safely fly drones in real-world conditions beyond visual line of sight without the need for ground-based spotters.

This capability enables researchers to explore longer-distance and more complex delivery scenarios that better reflect the time-sensitive nature of organ transport, NASA said.

After the initial flight evaluations, an animal test organ will be assessed to determine whether it remains viable for transplant, including assessing factors such as temperature stability and potential tissue damage caused by a lack of blood flow.

If early drone testing proves successful, the partnership may expand to further evaluate operational feasibility and scalability, helping determine whether drones could become a viable option for time-critical medical deliveries, NASA noted.