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    Shadowing a British Blood Biker on Shift



    I have been donating blood for almost 5 years, and in that time I have become fascinated with the people volunteering to help alongside this lifesaving service. Let’s see the behind the scenes of one way blood goes from being donated to getting in the right hands to save a life.

    If you would like to donate to Freewheelers EVS (my local Blood biker Charity) you can text BLOODBIKES 5 to 70480 to donate £5.

    You can find your local Blood Biker Charity here: https://www.bloodbikes.org.uk

    And Air Ambulance Charities here: https://www.airambulancesuk.org

    If you like the music in this video, I have created a playlist here:
    (preview) https://share.epidemicsound.com/znco0e/?playlist=tfzebv19smgynuutue0uy9955t4nvrvb
    (full playlist) https://www.epidemicsound.com/playlist/tfzebv19smgynuutue0uy9955t4nvrvb/

    Thank you again to everyone who helped make this video possible. I filmed this in between lectures, adventures and internships and I am so grateful that I got to have this experience and share this with all of you.

    instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luthersjournal/

    Chapters:
    0:00 Introduction
    1:17 Donating Blood
    4:41 Meeting the Blood Biker
    6:34 Understanding Blood Storage
    11:00 Blood Bikes & Air Ambulances
    15:51 Helicopter Landing
    17:11 Biomedical Scientists
    20:04 Second Helicopter Landing
    22:21 Importance of Blood Services
    25:14 Outro

    Below is the Joint Statement from NHS Blood and Transplant & the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (2023):

    “NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) collects, manufactures and delivers donated blood products to hospitals across England 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
    The NHSBT fleet makes regular routine deliveries and ‘blue light’ emergency deliveries when additional supplies are urgently needed by hospitals. The fleet’s work ensures that hospitals have the blood products they need to treat patients.
    Hospitals can, on occasion, choose to arrange their own transport for blood using contractors, couriers or charity volunteers such as the Blood Bikes, who currently deliver 2% of the blood products used by hospitals across England.
    The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes – NABB – consist of independent Blood Bike Group Charities who work with their local hospitals, Air Ambulance services, and other NHS sites transporting blood and blood products, medication, medical equipment, X-rays, scans, samples and human donor milk.
    This service is an addition to the regular and emergency 24-hour service provided by NHSBT. When a Blood Bike group transports blood or blood products it is typically done on an ad-hoc basis.
    None of this would be possible without blood donors, ordinary people doing an extraordinary thing to save and improve the lives of others.”

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    48 Comments

    8. @sareiksar on

      Came to watch after seeing your instagram post with gwaac. This was a fab watch, thank you for highlighting such amazing work all these guys do.
      <3 from a local paramedic 🙂

    9. @OlivierB-t1u on

      Thank you for the video. You're right to highlight to give blood, it can save lives with on a simply way. You seem to be authentic, I appreciate it.

    11. @ali_27392 on

      This has reminded me to book my next blood donation appointment – thank you! So interesting to see behind the scenes! And as the manager of the lab said, we don’t realise the teams behind the scenes because it’s not talked about. And you never know, as he said, this could inspire someone to get into this important line of work

    13. @thatreadergirl1 on

      As a non-British, i had no idea blood bikers existed. And now that i know, i am really thankful to these unsung heroes. And also thank you for this video, Luther. In this critical era, watching something like this makes us realize there is still hope. There are people who work behind the scenes for the sake of others unconditionally. Nothing is greater than that. You also motivated me to start donating more blood from now on.
      Your dedication of the fireworks to the blood bikers was so beautifully poetic. Love how you instantly associated it with them ❤

    15. @lydiadiwakar7602 on

      As someone who has been part of the blood service for a few years as a donor carer (the ones who take the blood from the donor) this is such an amazing, beautiful filmed (as always) snapshot of how easy and life changing donating is. And also how vital donating is. Thank you

    19. @Chris-uq5mg on

      From Why I Ride to this video I’m thankful the algorithms showed me both, as very well done bookends to the reasons you ride and your ultimate goal on a motorcycle. As someone who road at your age, donates regularly, and will start riding again as I turn 60, thanks for sharing the nudge and hopefully more people will hype this video to increase views on the extraordinary people behind the scenes who make second chances possible when minutes matter!

    22. @JoeTooker on

      Luther on behalf of us all at Freewheelers EVS, thank you so much for all the time and effort you have put into shining a light on our service and the service of all involved from donation through to road side transfusion! This is an absolutely incredible video and we hope that it is shared far and wide. John had a great time showing you around and you joining him on his Air Ambulance shift! Thank you!

    27. @trainspotteromg on

      I am also a O-Negative blood paitent, being O-Negative is such a good blood type becuase everyone can have it but also not becuase you can only have o-negative blood back. But theres also not that many people who are O-Negative. Theres also loads of people who don't know what blood type they are.

    29. @Kevin_The_Gerbil on

      Thank you for sharing this. Although I was aware of the blood bikers, I didn’t know or understand what their role entailed. A great insight. Just a shame that these bikers are volunteers and not paid for their hard work. Thank you to all the blood bikers and donors out there. ❤

    30. @scubaclogger on

      Shared this with Greater Manchester Blood Bike who I volunteer for as a driver and duty controller. Great insight into the whole process. We at GMBB support the North West Air Ambulance at Barton and assist with there Blackpool based helicopter working in conjunction with NorthWest Blood Bike (Lancs and Lakes) on relay for there Blood on Board service.

    31. @lukeb9501 on

      Just signed up to give blood after watching this! Really inspiring stuff. I'm 19 so hopefully a long life of donating blood ahead of me!

    32. @andyb2254 on

      Great video and thank you for doing it! As a blood donor and a biker, it’s something I’ve considered doing, but never knew much about what’s involved, so it’s been great to see more about it. 🙏🏼

    34. @hexoslaya3696 on

      the scenario at the beginning happened to my cousin about a month ago (valentines day) on her way to the QEII the ambulance had to stop to get blood from an air ambulance to save her life

    36. @Elias_is_cool_XP on

      i have never seen your channel before but i love this video and its really cool to see how blood gets from person to person, this was also really cool beacuse i want to work for the air ambulance when im older!

    41. @DouglasCarl-l3h on

      Well done, Luther. Thank you for all you put into this to inform us about this valuable service voluntarily provided by people like John. Best wishes for great success in your journey to becoming a blood biker !

    42. @KeithFLOOK-wd3uw on

      Good luck in the route to being a Blood Biker.
      The Advanced Riding test is a great thing to do whether or not you go one to be a Blood Biker.. either the IAM or RoSPA.

    43. @IKharku on

      I’m from England and will be a future biker hopefully. I had no idea what Blood Bikers were so thank you so much for raising awareness for these hero’s

    45. @John900C on

      Great film, Luther. It reminded me of why I became a Bloodbike rider. I was so grateful for the way help arrived after I had a serious bike accident and all the treatment and care I received from the NHS to a full recovery that I wanted to return the favour to a small degree. It is really amazing how much work happens behind the scenes every day to support the emergency services that we totally depend on when we really need them.

    46. @HybridZach on

      Awesome video. I've always been interested in volunteering, my mental health right now isn't quite there, but once I am better I'd love to do something like this.

    47. @davidhammond2546 on

      Thank you Luther for this. My Dad was a blood donor for many many years before he passed at 90 years old. Your film has inspired me to join to be a donor and my first appointment is now booked.

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