Our charity is run entirely by volunteers and relies on these volunteers to undertake all tasks. The majority of our operational work is out of hours during unsociable hours overnight and at weekends. They work very closely with our Shift Controllers and use technology to record activities.
We have a fabulous team of speakers who are happy to deliver talks to groups, clubs and schools to explain who we are, what we do and how we do it. They’re even partial to judging the odd cake competition.
We are very proud of our partnership with the Civil Air Support. When items need to be transported across large distances and are time sensitive, we call on our friends in the Civil Air Support to transport via plane.
Our fundraising team are a vital part of our charity and most likely the volunteers you’re likely to meet as they are the public face of our organisation representing us at events and collections. As Northumbria Blood Bikes exists entirely on charitable donations fundraising keeps our fleet on the road.
Whenever any NHS organisation needs something delivering quickly they call our main line, where our shift controllers are their first point of contact.
The controller records details of the request and immediately dispatches one of our advanced riders, or drivers, to the relevant location.
As a member of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB) we form part of a national network of blood bike groups. We work in partnership with other groups to help transport urgently needed medical items nationwide (and sometimes further).
In 2023 we took part in 2,600 relays. Carrying everything from donated breast milk to blood samples for patients awaiting transplant. All free of charge to the NHS.
It’s less than a month until we have the honour to lead the Great North Run again. This year we have 30 runners as part of #TeamBloodBikes who will be #runningtomakeadifference for our charity. We wish them well in their final weeks of training.
Like many Blood Bike charities around the country we regularly deliver donated human milk on behalf The Human Milk Foundation, The Hearts Milk Bank and The Milk Bank at Chester. This involves volunteers collecting milk from donors, relaying with other groups, delivering to milk hubs or milk banks and to hospitals that request a delivery.
