Teams from the United Network for Organ Sharing, NASA Langley Research Center and LifeNet Health have successfully completed a groundbreaking study transporting human kidneys by drone beyond visual line of sight, marking a major milestone in the future of organ transportation and transplantation.

The June 5 flights highlight the potential for drone technology to support future innovations in organ transportation, with the goal of improving reliability, reducing transit times, and helping save more lives through transplantation.

During the study, research kidneys were biopsied and placed on preservation pumps before and after the flights to assess whether drone transportation affected organ integrity. Temperature, pressure and altitude were monitored throughout the approximately 15-minute flights. Preliminary findings showed no evidence that the flights negatively affected the organs.

“With more than 100,000 people currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant nationwide, innovation in organ transportation is essential,” said UNOS Interim CEO Mark Johnson. “This successful collaboration represents an important step toward making organ transportation safer, faster and more efficient.”

Organ transplantation is one of the most time-sensitive processes in healthcare. Once recovered, organs have only a limited window of viability, making efficient transportation critical to successful transplantation. Delays can impact organ function, patient outcomes, and whether a transplant can occur at all. Transportation innovation, including the exploration of drone technology, could expand access to transplantation for patients on the waitlist or reduce the time to transplant, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

According to national transplant data, another person is added to the U.S. transplant waiting list every eight minutes, while 13 people die each day waiting for an organ that never arrives. More than 3,000 people in Virginia alone are currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

The kidneys used in the study were donated for research by a donor family working with LifeNet Health after it was determined the organs would not be transplanted. Through these gifts, the organizations were able to evaluate how drone transportation may support future advances in transplantation logistics and organ preservation.

While transplantation saves lives today, research donation helps save lives tomorrow. Organs and tissues that cannot be used for transplant can still help scientists improve preservation methods, develop new therapies, and explore future innovations in transplantation and patient care.

“Research donation plays a vital role in advancing medicine and transplantation,” said Rony Thomas, President and CEO of LifeNet Health. “While not every organ can be transplanted, many can still contribute to scientific discovery and innovations that may help save countless lives in the future.”

The study also highlights the broader impact of research donation. A single research donation can support multiple scientific studies and discoveries that may improve transplant outcomes and benefit patients for years to come. Many medical advances used in transplantation today were made possible through the generosity of donors and their families.

Research donation occurs only with proper authorization and under strict ethical and regulatory standards. Families receive clear information about the process and can make informed decisions that honor their loved one’s wishes.

UNOS, NASA, and LifeNet Health continue exploring opportunities to further evaluate drone transportation in operational environments, including transporting research organs between hospitals and airports.

Today, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) announced that Paul Rocheleau has joined its Board of Directors.

Rocheleau has decades of experience leading and operating global corporations, life sciences ventures, research-university initiatives and nonprofit entities, and brings a strategic insight that has helped organizations identify opportunities and grow.

He played a significant role in advancing life sciences and high skilled talent development initiatives in Virginia. As co-founder of Virginia Life Science Investments, LLC, Rocheleau helped attract international startups to the Commonwealth and launch early-stage operations. From 1997 to 2023, he helped establish and grow the College of Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he served on its foundation and as executive director of strategic programs. While with the university, he created industry partnerships, assisted economic development efforts, and secured public and private funding.

“Paul’s extensive leadership involving life science startups, technology commercialization and global business initiatives will bring a valuable perspective to the UNOS board,” said Mark Johnson, interim CEO of UNOS. “His experience guiding complex organizations through periods of growth and innovation will be highly valued as we enhance the ways we serve the organ donation and transplant system.”

Rocheleau retired in 2023 following a distinguished career. He has held senior executive roles including chief executive officer of Albright & Wilson, a London-based multinational chemical company, and chief financial officer of Albemarle Corp., a global specialty chemicals company. In these roles, he developed and implemented disruptive business strategies, commercialized new technology, created strategic partnerships, and secured funding for acquisitions to support rapid growth.

He has served on the boards of public multinational companies, nonprofit organizations and private companies, including Richmond-based Apex Systems Inc.

“I am honored to join the UNOS board and support its mission to save and improve lives,” Rocheleau said. “I look forward to contributing to the organization’s critically important work as it expands and engages partners across a very complex ecosystem that defines the organ donation and transplant community.”

Rocheleau will begin his term on June 1, 2026, serving until September 30, 2029. He was unanimously approved by a full board vote on May 18, 2026.

Mark Johnson, interim CEO of UNOS, and John Koelling, director of aeronautics research at NASA Langley Research Center, sign a partnership agreement to study drone transport for organs.

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) today announced a new partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to advance the study of how drone technology could make organ transport safer, faster and more efficient.

The partnership was officially launched today during a signing ceremony at UNOS’ Richmond headquarters, beginning a joint effort to further our understanding of how unmanned, unpressurized aerial vehicle (UAV) flights affect organ viability, and explore how this technology could potentially transform the nation’s transplant logistics network.

This work combines NASA’s expertise in aeronautics and flight testing with UNOS’ deep experience in organ donation and transplantation to reimagine what it means to transport organs for transplant.

“This partnership shows what’s possible when innovation and mission-driven health care come together,” said Mark Johnson, UNOS interim chief executive officer. “By combining NASA’s aeronautics capabilities with UNOS’ transplant expertise, we can explore new approaches that may one day help reduce organ transport time and cost, improve efficiency and ultimately save and transform more lives.”

The first phase of this partnership will focus on developing and testing instrumentation to measure how environmental factors such as temperature, vibration, and altitude affect organs during UAV flights carrying research organs. NASA will also analyze potential flight routes, time savings, and ways drone technologies could be integrated into existing transplant logistics, focusing on a first-mile, last-mile route network.

UAV organ transport has the potential to reduce costs, increase routing flexibility, and cut transport times by avoiding traffic and other scheduling constraints.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to be a part of this,” said John Koelling, director of aeronautics research at NASA Langley Research Center during today’s signing ceremony. “Doing something in my backyard that could change the world—how cool is that? That’s almost as cool as stepping foot on the moon.”

Future phases of the collaboration are expected to explore scalability, longer-range flight testing, and regulatory considerations that could support the safe expansion of medical drone operations. The work will also involve collaboration with additional research partners, federal agencies and academic institutions.

UNOS has long supported innovation across the donation and transplant system beyond its role as a contractor for the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). This partnership with NASA reflects UNOS’ commitment to exploring innovative solutions that strengthen the system.

Read NASA’s press release