A voluntary blood courier service in Huddersfield has had a hectic Christmas.
Calderdale-based Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes responded to 14 urgent calls to transport blood and pathology samples between hospitals between Christmas Eve and December 27.
One emergency call came in just before 7.30pm on Boxing Day when volunteer Laurence Turner had to take blood from Huddersfield Royal Infirmary to the Blood Transfusion Service Centre at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds.
West Yorkshire Regional Manager for Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes Andy Dickens said: “We have been very busy responding to calls from Halifax and Huddersfield hospitals and hospices in West Yorkshire over the Christmas period.
"The call on Boxing Day evening was rated as an emergency, the highest level of urgency our volunteers respond to. Voluntary advanced blood biker Laurence handled the intensity of demand very well and I’d like to thank him for all his efforts over Christmas.”
Elsewhere in Yorkshire on Christmas Day Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes also took part in an urgent national relay between four blood bike groups of critical pathology samples being transferred from Bristol Children’s Hospital to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes operate an out of hours emergency courier service providing 24 hour cover over the Christmas Bank Holiday period transporting urgent blood and pathology samples and pharmaceutical supplies at no cost to the NHS.
