Irish drone delivery operator Manna Air Delivery has conducted a simulation demonstrating medical supply transport between Rotunda Hospital and Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown, according to DroneLife.

The trial focused on rapid aerial movement of blood products, pathology specimens and emergency pharmaceuticals between hospital facilities, reducing transit times from hours to minutes.

Rotunda Hospital led clinical design for the exercise whilst Manna Air Delivery provided software systems and aircraft manufactured in Ireland for the demonstration flight scenario.

John O'Loughlin, Laboratory Manager at Rotunda Hospital, said: "The ability to move blood, samples and other critical supplies between hospitals at speed could transform how we support emergency and planned care in Ireland. Today's simulation is a glimpse of that future."

Manna's platform operates fully electric, zero-emission aircraft already serving suburban communities under Irish Aviation Authority and European oversight. The company has completed 48,000 deliveries in Dublin 15, replacing more than 500,000 kilometres of road-based routes. Medical cargo represents the next application phase for existing aircraft and command infrastructure.

Bobby Healy, Chief Executive Officer at Manna Air Delivery, said: "We've proven this technology works at scale. What we're showing now is how it can be applied in healthcare where minutes matter."

International programmes indicate similar performance gains. In London, drones reduced blood sample transport between Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital from over 30 minutes by road to under two minutes by air.

A previous Irish simulation used Manna drones to deliver automated external defibrillators to community cardiac arrest incidents. The project, led by Dr Glenn Curtin with the HSE, National Ambulance Service and Community First Responders, demonstrated defibrillator arrival at a residence in approximately two minutes.

Professor Joseph Galvin, cardiologist and member of the Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Register Steering Group, said: "There's nothing in all of healthcare that comes close in terms of the number of lives saved. This is radical and has great potential."

Live inter-hospital medical drone delivery will require further regulatory approvals.

Discover how medical drone delivery could reshape inter-hospital transport in the complete article.