Having recently announced that we’ll be continuing to support the Manchester Blood Bikes throughout 2017, we’ve decided to take a look at what it is Blood Bikers do in greater detail by speaking to one of our 12 faces of our 2017 charity calendar, Malcolm Farley.
This year, our calendar is supporting the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes, as it is a charity very close to our hearts. To download your own copy of the calendar, please click here: https://www.carolenash.com/pdf/carolenashcalendar/2017.pdf
We had a chat with Malcolm, a Blood Biker from Sunderland, to find out more about his fantastic work. Here’s what to expect if you’re thinking of putting your name down to volunteer in the New Year!
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Hi Malcolm, how long have you been a Blood Biker for?
I have been a Northumbria blood biker for just over a year now, riding for NBB Northumbria blood bikes covering some of the biggest hospitals in the North East.
What was it that inspired you to be a Blood Biker?
A few years ago my sister was in a very bad accident and we may have lost her if it was not for the air ambulance. So I was looking for a way to support them, which then led me to the Northumbria Blood Bikes website.
What’s a normal shift like for you?
I do a 12 hour shift every Wednesday night, but also cover other nights when we don’t have enough people on shift.
Each night we can have up to two cars and three bikes on shift. One car is known as the Bob car (which stands for blood on board) – a vehicle that supplies blood to the air ambulances – another is housed at Stockton and the other is a relay with a Cumbrian blood biker that operates between the air ambulance and James Cook hospital.
When I’m not working, I also go to fund raisers and attend talks to help spread the word about Blood Bikes.
Tell us about your best experience as a Blood Biker . . .
One time I got an urgent job for some blood to be taken to a hospital about 15 miles away. Because I was on a blood bike, I could cut through the traffic and arrived there very quickly before delivering the blood on time.
The next day someone posted a story about the lady we’d saved on Facebook. Apparently this lady had cancer, and wouldn’t have survived without the blood transfusion she was able to have as a result of our work as Blood Bikers.
That is one of the things that stands out for me. You never know who you are helping from one night to the next.
Malcolm Farley is ‘November’ in our 2017 Charity Calendar
For more information on the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes please visit: http://www.bloodbikes.org.uk/ or to make a donation visit: https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/nabb
