By: Carl Detweiler
The helicopter-sharing app, Blade, is using its aircraft in New York City to fly organs around for emergency transplants.
The company, known best for transporting the rich and famous, is partnering with NYU Langone Health to speed organs to patients.
“Blade’s 90-plus helicopters have been made accessible for dispatch between NYU Langone and hospitals up to 400 miles away. Sometimes a medical team will fly to another hospital to procure an organ, and other times it will deliver one, a Langone spokeswoman said,” the New York Post reported. “With the new service, patients who previously had to wait five hours for an organ may now only have to wait only three hours, said Brigitte Sullivan, executive director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute.”
It was back in March that Blade expanded operations offering continuous ride-sharing flights between Manhattan and the airports. “Not only are you putting more passengers on a helicopter to split the cost, but we have a dedicated aircraft that’s going back and fourth all day long,” Will Heyburn, Head of Corporate Development for Blade, told ny1.com in an interview.
The company says nothing about its medical program on its web site, preferring to focus on the good life. Flying with Blade, it points out, “is not just a flight–it’s an experience. Prior to takeoff in Manhattan, enjoy iconic design, art, and refreshments at one of our BLADE Lounges. Arrive early to sip rosé in BLADE’s iconic sippy cup and enjoy lounge vibes. Book a flight in seconds on your own terms. Fly by-the-seat on any scheduled flight in the Northeast, Los Angeles, San Francisco, (and soon Mumbai); or charter your own flight anywhere in the world, with the option to crowdsource. Additionally, BLADE is leading the largest Urban Air Mobility initiative in New York, with continuous flights to and from JFK. Board fast, quiet, and comfortable helicopters and seaplanes — or even jets. Fly across town, or around the world.”
“Branded Blade MediMobility, the new service made its first organ delivery on Aug. 28 and has since transported 25 transplant organs, according to Blade Chief Executive Rob Wiesenthal,” according to the Post. “He said he plans to extend the service to other hospitals in the area. “Our platform is ideally suited to provide NYU Langone with 24/7 access to safety-vetted rotorcraft with as little as 20 minutes notice,” Wiesenthal said.
The new service, “which Wiesenthal says is operating at “less than breakeven,” may help deflect some of the barbs Blade has felt from local residents, particularly in the Hamptons, who have been caught under its noisy flight paths,” the Post added.
