We are a 100% voluntary service providing a lifesaving out of hours courier service to local NHS trusts entirely free of charge, including urgent transport of blood, medications and plasma.
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Northumbria Blood Bikes is a registered charity established by local volunteers to deliver essential blood and urgent medical supplies, out of hours, between hospitals and other healthcare sites in North East England. We cover Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne City, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland.
Saving Money:
Outside normal office hours, hospitals rely on taxis or couriers to transfer urgent medical supplies or test samples between hospitals and other sites. Blood Bike groups, across the country, offer to carry out this service free of charge, ensuring the limited resources of the NHS can be used where it makes a difference. Northumbria Blood Bikes' funding comes entirely from charitable donations, and the service is provided solely by volunteers, giving their own free time to help others.
Saving lives:
In critical situations, blood or other medical items need to be delivered urgently in order to save a patient's life. Blood bikes, with their distinctive livery and narrow profile, can quickly get through busy traffic to reach their destination. For bulky items, or in extreme weather conditions, we use cars too, to ensure our service is available every day of the year.
Continued Growth
Work to establish the group started in September 2012, and the team of dedicated volunteers, with support from the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and other groups, began live operations in February 2014. By the end of that year we were supporting hospitals across the whole of our region and since 2015 we have also supported the Great North Air Ambulance Service with daily deliveries to its aircraft bases. We perform around 15,000 deliveries per year with demand for our service growing all the time. In June 2017 Northumbria Blood Bikes was the proud recipient of The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service - the MBE for voluntary groups - which we think recognises the value of the work we do and the professionalism and dedication of our volunteers.
We could not provide this service without the generosity of the public and businesses that support us.
