The Emergency Voluntary Blood Bike Charity, Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes, are appealing for new riders to ride their newly donated Blood Bike.
The new BMW R1250RT Blood Bike is on duty this weekend and was welcomed into service by representatives of the motorcycle’s donors and staff from the Transfusion Team at York Hospital.
Members of the Pocklington based, Widows Sons Masonic Biker Group have been instrumental in raising nearly twenty-thousand pounds to provide the voluntary Blood Bike service with a new bike for North Yorkshire.
Andy Hunn, of the Widow Sons Group presented Whiteknights’ North Yorkshire Manager, Andy Richardson with the keys for the new motorcycle at York Hospital.
Mr Hunn said: “We’re very proud to have purchased a new Blood Bike which will operate in the areas covered by York and Scarborough NHS Foundation Trust. Whiteknights Volunteer Blood Bikers provide a marvelous service totally free of charge to hospitals and hospices in our region.
“They have been so busy during the Pandemic, having ridden thousands of miles, that the Blood Bike for our area needed replacing. We raised £1000 in our local group then achieved further funding through other Masonic charitable foundations including the Freemasons Charity Foundation of Yorkshire North and East Riding.”
Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes North Yorkshire Manager, Andy Richardson added: “We’re delighted to have a new bike available overnight and twenty-four hours at weekends to transport urgent blood samples and medication in the York area. We are now looking to recruit more motorcyclists to volunteer their riding skills to benefit the NHS.
Senior Pharmacy Technician at York Hospital, Cat Reed added:
“We only call Whiteknights when the medications and Controlled Drugs require urgent delivery. We know they’re all volunteers and so we treat the Blood Bike service with the respect and value it deserves – you do a brilliant job!”
The Charity states that for every, free-to-the -NHS journey made out-of-hours by Whiteknights’ volunteers, the charity saves the NHS from expensive alternate transportation costs.
Pictured handing the keys for the Blood Bike is Andy Hunn from The Widows Sons Lodge, and Whiteknight’s North Yorkshire Regional Manager, Andy Richardson.