As we celebrate our second National Blood Bikes Awareness Day we focus this year on the ‘diversity’ of the work we do and the volunteers who keep us running. “We’re not just about blood!”

We start our day with a celebration. In the early hours of the morning our team out on the road hit another milestone. Our volunteers have completed 10,000 jobs since going live on 03/02/14.

Northumbria Blood Bikes are the men and women across the North East of England, who have dedicated their spare time, to provide a free out-of-hours rapid response courier service for the transportation of medical essentials. We transport blood, samples and other urgent and emergency items to hospitals and health centres in our region as well as ‘Blood on Board’ to the Great North Air Ambulance. Our entire operation is ran by unpaid volunteers and financed through public donations, fundraising events and corporate sponsorship.

Blood bikes are known as the ‘unseen emergency service’ due to the nocturnal network of volunteers who are rarely witnessed by the recipients of our deliveries. Calls are handled by our own shift coordinators who answer calls then pass them on to our riders and drivers. These call handlers keep track of the team out on the roads and ensure they reach their destination safely. All of our riders and drivers hold advanced qualifications and are fully trained for handling the precious items they transport. Aside from the operational roles we also have a team of fundraisers and speakers who are vital to our continued awareness campaigns.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our committed volunteers and generous support of the public we can continue to #makeadifference together and save lives #ItsWhatWeDo. We’re proud to be Northumbria Blood Bikes are you proud to support us? #BloodBikesDay

If you’ve got what it takes to join us fill out an online application form today www.northumbriabloodbikes.org.uk

You can donate funds to us in a number of ways:

Text “NBBC33 £5” to 70070.

You can also donate £1, £2, £3, £4 or £10 simply by changing the number.

Links to our Virgin Money Giving Page, where single and regular donations can be made, are available on the home page of our website.