A charity that bikes blood between NHS hospitals is reflecting on another successful drop-off, following an urgent delivery between Salford and Liverpool.
A volunteer driver for Greater Manchester Blood Bikes charity ensured a delivery made its way from Salford Royal hospital to NHSBT Speke at 4.46am in late November. It was one of over 2,000 blood bike deliveries on behalf of the Northwest Air Ambulance and Salford Royal hospital this year.
Russ Harrison, Chair and co-founder of the charity Greater Manchester Blood Bikes, said: “One of our volunteer drivers, David L undertook the mission, one of three drivers available that early morning, to deliver an urgent sample to Liverpool.”
“We deliver blood daily to the Northwest Air Ambulance to support the wonderful life saving work they do across the region too. In recent months medication has increased too as we deliver to hospices, between hospitals and to those who are housebound or have just left hospital to return home.
“Our team of unpaid volunteer drivers, riders, fundraisers and duty controllers has grown to over 100 strong as the demand increases and we are always looking to help more people in need.”
Greater Manchester Blood Bikes is a registered charity founded in October 2022 and has been operational since January 1st, 2023, with the sole purpose of saving the NHS money that they can better channel into direct patient care.
The charity has grown quickly, with 2568 jobs in the first year to 4214 jobs in their second year of operation, replacing an existing blood bike charity that was closing down. This was achieved in just four short months so that they were in a position to provide uninterrupted cover for the people of Greater Manchester.
Stephen, a GMBB volunteer driver, described how he joined the Blood Bikers: “For many decades I’d been dimly aware of Blood Bikers as a voluntary organisation but until a little under three years ago I knew pretty much nothing about them beyond that.
“In February 2023 I met a group of GMBB fundraisers canvassing outside my local supermarket. I may have chucked a few coins into their bucket; I definitely asked whether they used cars as well as motorbikes, and whether they needed more drivers. The GMBB training team called me soon after, and I was reeled in.
“Following training, I did my first ever solo job in June ’23. Since then, I’ve driven something over 600 GMBB missions. I typically volunteer for 48- to 60-hour stints over every other weekend.
“When we arrive, for both collections and deliveries, the faces of our clients light up with relief, delight, or simply being genuinely happy to see us. The work would be entirely worth it for that
alone. They know we’re volunteers who’re simply out to save the NHS and hospices money, which they can spend on more important things.
“On the other hand, we have to assume that each job is life saving for someone – because it often is. Sometimes, after the event, we learn a little of the back story and the full significance of a mission. That can bring tears to a grown man’s eyes. Ask me how I know.
“In contrast, sometimes the job is as trivial as fetching a bunch of keys from a hospital ward and taking to the home of the patient who’s just been discharged – and left the keys behind. To the person waiting for us, the job most certainly is not trivial: that’s what truly matters.”
This year, the blood bike charity have already passed 5,000 jobs – helping NHS hospitals and hospices around the region.
Blood bike volunteers also deliver over 75% of all the donor breast milk delivered to premature babies in Neonatal departments across the UK. The Greater Manchester Blood Bikes collects from donor Mums across the region and delivers to the Milk Bank at Chester, bringing processed and screened milk back to the regional hub at Wythenshawe, before it is delivered to NICU’s all across the Greater Manchester region on demand by the volunteers.
These are Stephen’s favourite jobs, he said: “My particular favourite jobs are multi-pickup, donated breast milk runs: some new mums produce more milk than their newborns can use and so, encouraged and taught by their midwives, they volunteer to collect and freeze the excess.
“Beyond the slightest doubt, the most intense, difficult, emotional part of the entire job is collecting milk from a mum whose baby hasn’t survived. I know that on occasion my thanks, condolences and best wishes have been clumsy and awkward, perhaps even tactless; I’ve never come across anything else in my life that’s made me feel so foolish, insensitive and small. But that’s (almost) forgotten the next time a DBM run comes my way – the mums and babies are top priority, always and absolutely.
“We know we’ve contributed to lives being saved, from victims of violence to road accident victims, to mums and babies surviving difficult births, and to the air ambulance helicopter crews being equipped to save lives in awful circumstances. We know, because they tell us so.”
Russ commented: “Congratulations to David but every single Volunteer for such a fantastic achievement! Well Done from one very proud DC.”
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