What We Do

Shropshire • Staffordshire • Cheshire Blood Bikes

An urgent volunteer service providing transportation of blood products, for free, to NHS hospitals across Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire. Registered Charity Number: 1156212.

Blood Transport

Much like our name states, SSCBB was created to transport blood across the midlands through the help of bikes which are able to push past traffic & deliver donations on time.

It is the early hours of the morning and a hospital urgently requires blood. Currently hospitals within Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire have little choice but to call a local taxi company to collect and deliver the blood. The hospital would then be charged retail rates for this “service”, which can cost between £200-300 per trip!

That’s where we intend to help!

Breast Milk Donations & Transport

Just blood you say?

At Shropshire Blood Bikes we have the pleasure of helping out hospitals in the Staffordshire, Shropshire & Cheshire areas. Through helping these hospitals transport emergency blood samples, we’ve also learned about the importance of breast milk donations.

SSCBB transport a variety of other urgent medical items in addition to blood products, including breast milk (Which is donated by women and used to feed premature babies). The transition to transporting milk was fairly easy as it was achieved using the temperature controlled boxes attached to our bikes.

Breast milk donations have helped save the lives of so many premature babies who are either sick or both. Some mothers are unable to provide their young ones with a full supply of breast milk for many reasons, which is why breast milk donations are so important. 

We work closely with the Milk Bank at Chester to deliver these vital donations of milk on their behalf. They are the largest NHS milk bank in England, supplying over 70 hospitals with donor milk and ensuring that any milk is screened & safe.
If you wish to find out more about donating breast milk you can do so at: https://www.milkbankatchester.org.uk/donate/

Fecal Matter Transport

On top of us learning about the wonders of donor breast milk, we have recently branched out into FMT (Faecal Matter Transplant) transports which can help treat illnesses such as Clostridioides difficile & ulcerative colitis. 

According to the NHS website, “FMT is thought to work by helping rebalance the bacteria and other organisms in your intestines”

We have been seeing an increase in Faecal matter transport, and much like blood & milk transport it is important that donations get delivered quickly & safely to ensure the samples are safe to use. Not only do these need to be safe, but depending on the severity of illness, the sooner the patient has access to treatment, the quicker we can get them back into good health. 

Furthermore, we are also open to transporting other urgent items such as patient notes, electronic scan information and even small pieces of urgently needed surgical equipment.

Branching out from Blood Bikes

As we’re all aware, the English weather is nothing short of unpredictable.

Our blood bikers absolutely adore riding their bikes, as for many of them, it’s both a hobby and a way of providing charity to SSCBB.

However, bad weather and the love for riding bikes don’t always go hand in hand, especially in winter months. Our bikers find it difficult on days they’re unable to ride, as the world doesn’t stop for wind or snow. Despite the bad weather there are still a lot of transports that need to be made so a large majority of our bikers have asked for ways to deliver during treacherous weather. 

With only Motorbikes at hand, we’re not able to put our bikers at risk and because of this dilemma, we have branched out from our usual blood bikes and invested donations into a few vehicles for bad weather.

The Blood Bike Network

Across the UK there are groups similar to ours operating for the benefit of their local area. Through co-operation between these groups, we link together to form the Blood Bike Network, which provides such a vital service up and down the country, saving the NHS money on taxis – and most importantly, saving lives!

Find out more about the Blood Bike Network and the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes here.

Our Mission

The stated aims of the charity are:

1. To improve the quality of life of patients and their families, predominantly in Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire by providing a free transport service of blood products, medical samples, breast milk and other urgently required items to our local NHS Trusts, Hospices, Milk Banks and other related organisations.
2. To promote a positive image of the motorcycling community within wider society.
3. To promote safer riding standards.

* By assisting them in their mission of relieving sickness and protecting life and health, by the provision of wholly volunteer-supported out-of-hours transport for urgently-needed blood, drugs, human tissue, donated breast milk and any other urgent medical requirements, both between hospitals and to, or from, blood or human milk banks, together with scheduled collections from breast milk donors.

SSCBB needs you!

With the ever increasing need for the NHS to save money but without compromising patient care, the demands upon the charity grow each year. SSCBB needs to grow to meet this increasing demand. To do so, we need more volunteers, whether that be in the form of riders, fundraisers or controllers.

If you are interested in joining us then please go to our “Join Us” page to learn more!

If you have a question about any aspect of our group or our work, then please do not hesitate to get in touch, by going to the “Contact Us” page.