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CS-06A· DocumentedDrone / aerial robot (UAV)
Zipline in Rwanda: drone blood delivery evaluated in a peer-reviewed study
Deliveries 79 minutes faster than by road and 67% fewer expired blood units at 12 months: the deployment with the strongest independent evidence in the field.
Last reviewed: 2026-11 · Methodology & sources →
Fact sheet
- Organization
- Zipline and Rwanda's public health system
- Sector
- Logistics & last mile
- Location
- Rwanda (Muhanga distribution center)
- Environment
- Emergency / disaster
- Stage
- Commercial
- First public deployment
- 2016-10
- Autonomy (editorial classification)
- L4 · High autonomy
- Coordination (editorial classification)
- Coordinated
Published payback
Not published
01The challenge
- Remote hospitals depended on road transport for blood, which lengthened delivery times and forced inventory that then expired.[The Lancet Global Health, 2022][Knowledge at Wharton]
02The solution
- Hardware
- Zipline drones operated from distribution centers such as Muhanga; the service launched in October 2016.[Eagle Online, 2016][GPB News, 2026]
- Perception
- Not published
- Navigation
- Not published
- Coordination
- Not published
03Published KPIs
Figures as communicated, with their context and source. “Not published” means no public figure exists — a gap to close in a pilot.
| KPI | Value | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean drone delivery time79 min faster than the road estimate | 49.6 min | 79 min faster than the road estimate | [The Lancet Global Health, 2022] |
| Blood-unit expirationsat 12 months; interrupted time series | −67% | at 12 months; interrupted time series | [The Lancet Global Health, 2022] |
| Wastage at adopting hospitalsseparate MSOM study | −40% | separate MSOM study | [Knowledge at Wharton] |
| Cost per delivery / cost-effectivenessauthors call for study | Not published | authors call for study | — |
04Lessons
Integration & operations
- Adopting hospitals reduced their red-blood-cell inventory; the most remote ones gained the most.[Knowledge at Wharton]
Maintenance & limits
- In 2026 Muhanga is one of two distribution centers operating in the country, with a third planned; the drone complements, not replaces, the rest of health logistics.[GPB News, 2026]
Scaling
- The study is retrospective and observational; its authors call for future work on cost-effectiveness and health outcomes. Even the best case has evidence gaps.[The Lancet Global Health, 2022]