Blood: Courier Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to recruit and retain Blood Bike volunteers.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for the collection, manufacture, and delivery of donated blood products to hospitals across England. This includes providing a regular and emergency delivery service 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure that hospitals have the blood products they need to treat patients.
Blood Bike groups are independent charities and are responsible for recruiting and retaining their own volunteers. The Department and NHSBT do not manage volunteer recruitment and retention centrally.
Some hospitals and National Health Services choose to arrange their own transport for blood products using contractors, couriers, or charity volunteers such as the Blood Bikes, in addition to the NHSBT service. Blood Bikes currently deliver approximately 2% of blood products used by hospitals across England. The Department recognises the valuable contribution that Blood Bike volunteers make in supporting NHS services.
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