Blood Bikers answer emergency call

Blood Bike Mid West will be holding a recruitment drive in the South Court Hotel, Limerick, from 11am to 3pm this Saturday. Since being established in October 2012, Blood Bike Mid West has made an invaluable contribution in the provision of transport of medical requisites in the region and beyond.

The bikers are kept busy doing runs for urgently needed blood, blood products, patient records, drugs, breast milk for premature and ill babies and other medical requirements between hospitals, blood transfusion banks and the human milk bank. Blood Bikers now operate a regular rota at weekends at the University Maternity Hospital Limerick, transporting documentation and records to and from the hospital and regularly riding to Athlone to collect urgently needed breast milk for premature babies.

The vital contribution of Blood Bikers in getting milk quickly to premature babies has been acknowledged by milk bank manager, Ann Mc Crea. “This service has made a huge difference to the way the milk bank can function. Milk can now be delivered seven days a week, to all parts of Ireland. Milk that has been screened, pasteurised and tested leaves the human milk bank and travels in special cold chain boxes designed to fit on the carrier of a motorbike. Milk, travelling in this way, reaches the tiny babies faster than any other way and often travels with a relay of Blood Bikers to get the milk to the tiny babies at speed,” said Ms McCrea.

Blood Bike Mid West are currently looking to recruit new volunteers for a variety of roles within this charity. With demand constantly growing for the services of the organisation, the number of bike riders required is also growing.

Riders must be a minimum of 25 years old, with at least two years’ full driving licence and a maximum of four penalty points, and must hold or be willing to achieve RoSPA Advanced Riding Certificate of Silver or Gold standard.
Other roles within the charity that require more volunteers include fundraisers, book-keepers and controllers for response phones. If you would like more information about the work of Blood Bike Mid West or would like to volunteer in any capacity, visit the recruitment drive on Saturday.

Further information about the charity is available on www.bloodbikemidwest.ie; Facebook: Blood Bike Mid West; email bloodbikemidwest@gmail.com.