The First Batch of Regular Medical Drone Routes in Shanghai Are Launched

On December 10th, Shanghai witnessed the successful "First flight" of its first regular medical sample drone delivery at Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, officially launching the city’s first batch of regular drone routes for medical logistics and opening a new chapter in intelligent healthcare transportation. At around 9 a.m., the "Renji 001" drone departed for Renji Hospital South Campus (a 15-kilometer journey completed in just 23 minutes), while another drone took off from Renji Hospital North Campus and landed nearby in 8 minutes. Prior to this, Renji Hospital relied on ground transportation for medical test sample delivery, using a "one vehicle + one driver + one escort" configuration for frequent round trips between its four campuses—an expensive method plagued by staffing constraints and ground traffic congestion that reduced delivery efficiency. As Li Jin, vice president of Renji Hospital, highlighted, the 14.5-kilometer straight-line distance from Renji East Campus to South Campus previously took 45 minutes one-way (up to 2 hours round-trip) by ground, but drone delivery has cut the time to 23 minutes, boosting efficiency by nearly 50%. Developed over six months through collaboration between Renji Hospital, Meituan Drones, China Telecom Shanghai, and Jichen Health Company (which provided technical support), the initial regular routes cover South Campus to East/North Campuses and North Campus to East Campus, establishing an aerial logistics network for the hospital. Li Jin explained that Renji Hospital—with its large scale and multiple campuses—sought to address transportation bottlenecks and improve diagnostic efficiency by partnering with Meituan Drones amid the rapid development of the low-altitude economy, with future plans to expand cooperation to cross-river scenarios and achieve full drone delivery coverage across all four campuses. Xia Qiang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Renji Hospital, stated that this launch is a starting point: Renji Hospital will further leverage urban airspace as a strategic resource to enhance Shanghai’s medical emergency response capabilities and optimize high-quality medical resource allocation, promoting the wider application of drones in critical scenarios such as emergency blood supply, pathological section delivery, and emergency material distribution during public health crises, positioning them as a new force in protecting Shanghai residents’ health.