Decade of blood biking: Lincolnshire Blood Bikes celebrate life-saving milestone

Congratulations to the Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes Service who have just celebrated 10 years of volunteer service with a special gathering at the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance headquarters.

The volunteer group was founded back in 2013 and transports blood products and other medical supplies for the NHS. Back in September 2017, they also began delivering daily blood products to the air ambulance – establishing a long-lasting connection between the two charities.

“Blood products are a key component of the high-quality pre-hospital care that the LNAA HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services) team delivers when required,” Senior Clinical Fellow, Dr Alan Horan said in a statement. “Without the assistance of the blood bikes service, this wouldn’t be possible.”

The specialist venue opposite RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire played host to over 30 Blood Bikers, giving the chance for the riders and air ambulance crew to get together and celebrate their success.

The visiting riders posed for photos with the helicopter and were given a guided tour of the aircraft.

“It was brilliant, and a lot of the people there had never met each other before, or had a chance to talk,” volunteer rider Roland Johns told MCN. “Everybody thoroughly enjoyed it because they’d never actually seen the helicopter up that close, and the Operations Manager gave us a thorough briefing on what goes on behind the scenes.”

Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes Service cover the second largest county in England, with more than 100 bikers delivering to nearly 2700 square miles and a population of around 1.1 million people. In 2022 alone, 148 units of their couriered blood were used to treat patients on the air ambulance.