Zipline Ghana conducted more than 4,000 drone deliveries of blood and blood products on behalf of the National Blood Service Ghana (NBS) in 2025, Dr Shirley Phyllis Ohenewa Owusu-Ofori, Chief Executive Officer of the Service, has said.
Presenting the 2025 Annual Performance Review of the NBS in Accra, she described Zipline as one of the Service’s most reliable operational partners, noting that the company successfully carried out 4,314 lifesaving deliveries and transported more than 5,000 units of blood to 96 health facilities nationwide.
Dr Owusu-Ofori said the collaboration had become indispensable, particularly for hard-to-reach communities where geography or long distances often delayed conventional transport.
She noted that the partnership had also contributed significantly to reducing stock-out incidents in peripheral health facilities while improving the turnaround time for emergency transfusions.
The CEO explained that the ability to dispatch blood products within minutes had transformed emergency response for conditions such as postpartum haemorrhage, severe anaemia, trauma and paediatric emergencies.
Dr Owusu-Ofori said many health facilities now relied on the drone service as a dependable extension of their emergency supply systems. She added that Zipline’s performance in 2025 was consistent with the NBS’s broader efforts to ensure equitable access to safe blood across all regions of the country.
She explained that blood delivery logistics remained one of the major bottlenecks in national service delivery, particularly in districts that lacked reliable transport or were affected by poor road networks.
According to her, the drone system had helped to bridge a critical gap in situations where delays could have resulted in preventable deaths.
Dr Owusu-Ofori also highlighted the role Zipline played during the Africa-wide Red Saturday blood donation initiative held in November, when Ghana exceeded its national mobilisation target.
She said the company, together with its partners, provided logistical and last-minute support that enabled the NBS to participate fully in the 12-country campaign aimed at raising awareness and boosting blood donations across the continent.
The CEO expressed appreciation to Zipline for its continued partnership, describing the company as a key stakeholder in the NBS’s mission to guarantee national blood security.
She stressed that the Service’s ability to meet emergency requests depended not only on blood collection efforts but also on efficient distribution systems capable of delivering blood to patients within the critical time needed to save lives.
Dr Owusu-Ofori urged other private sector organisations to emulate the example set by Zipline and support Ghana’s blood service infrastructure, noting that the challenges facing the sector required stronger multi-sectoral collaboration.
She said efforts to digitalise blood management, strengthen regional centres and expand voluntary blood donation campaigns would be more effective with sustained support from private organisations and development partners.
Dr Owusu-Ofori reiterated the NBS’s commitment to ensuring that no patient was denied life-saving blood because of location, distance or delays in transportation, adding that partnerships such as the one with Zipline had already demonstrated the impact of applying modern technology to public health delivery.
