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Blood bikes charity transporting medical supplies and samples in the Highlands boosted by donations totalling £15,000


By Ali Morrison

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Highland and Islands Blood Bikes president Ross Sharp.
Highland and Islands Blood Bikes president Ross Sharp.

A charity which has transported hundreds of vital medical supplies and samples free of charge for NHS Highland, has received funding totalling more than £15,000.

Highland and Islands Blood Bikes (HAIBB) says the money will support its running costs and comes as it desperately seeks premises to store its fleet and equipment.

The total is made up of three donations – £10,000 from the Brownlie Trust, £5000 from the Hugh Fraser Foundation and £300 from the Asda Foundation which represents continued support from its Inverness store.

Ross Sharp, HAIBB president, thanked the donors.

"We are a new charity but have expanded at such a rate since our operational beginning in March last year," he said.

The charity has mainly transported Covid-19 samples since April and runs 14-hour shifts per day with two motorbikes and a car located in Inverness, its key hub, plus bikes in Fort William, Wick and Oban.

"The Inverness bikes have been kept at the home of one of our trustees, and while we are extremely grateful, we do understand that sharing your own garage and having bikes coming and going at various hours throughout the day is not ideal," Mr Sharp said.

"We now hope to use some of the money we have received to secure a premise, ideally one that can be home to the bikes and car, and have an office for our other equipment."

Since March, the charity has notched up 124,000 miles, mainly in the NHS Highland area at 54 different locations but also travelling to Elgin, Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow.

It has run 750 jobs for NHS Highland, transporting Covid-19 samples, reagents, blood, urine and faeces samples, spinal fluid samples and other items of small equipment.

During the winter, the bikes have been withdrawn several times with riders and drivers using their own vehicles, or a donated car named Ellie.

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