Category: Blood Service

This is one of Whiteknights blood bikes, a Honda ST1100. Based in Yorkshire, this service was set up by volunteers to carry out free medical transfers for the NHS.

Another of Whiteknights’ bikes, showing white lights where the blue flashing lights are usually mounted on the front of the bike. A blue light can still be operated on the rear pole.

GU08 NMF is a Honda Deauville that is used by SERV bloodrunners. It is not fitted with any emergency warning equipment, but has the standard orange and yellow checkered livery applied.

LC05 FUP is a SERV Yamaha 1300 FJR motorbike. Notice the specially made plinth on the rear of the bike so that a transportation box can be attached. This same bike in the old colours can be seen lower down the page.

RO04 EWA is a Honda Pan European ST1300 that is posing outside of an A&E department. Notice that it has the transportation box attached to the rear and is fitted with amber flashing lights.

GX55 ETK is another SERV motorbike showing the revised 2008 colour scheme of orange and yellow squares.

These two Honda ST1100 Pan European motorbikes are used by Bloodfast Emergency Volunteer Service Ltd. They are marked in red and yellow battenburg and are two of four bikes used by the charity. They assist the NHS in the Hull area by transporting items for free by volunteers.

DS06 UYL This Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 SRi is also with Bloodfast. It has ‘urgent bloods’ written on the bonnet and a yellow stripe up the sides. The cars can be used when it is unsafe to use motorbikes, such as in foggy or icy weather.

LG56 KKU is a BMW 530D Touring which is run by Bloodfast. It has ‘ambulance’ wording on the bonnet and is decked out in full yellow and green battenburg markings.

KL07 LZT This Ford Mondeo estate is used by Amvale Medical based in Scunthorpe. They have contracts with NHS hospitals to transport organs as well as taking teams of surgeons to other hospitals. It is fitted with a blue light bar on the roof and is classed as an ambulance.



The rear view of the Mondeo, showing the transplant logo on the rear portion.

RJ07 GDV This BMW R 1150 RT is decked out in orange and yellow squares and is used by the Freewheelers blood service charity.



The rear and side view of the same motorbike. It has clear ‘blood’ wording on all sides and three blue flashing lights for emergency work.

MT56 KCU This 2006 Ford Transit T260 is used by the NBS for the transport of blood. It carries a blue light bar on its roof as well as four LED repeaters on the grill and front wings.



The side view of the short wheel-base Transit.

This Honda ST1300P is used by Freewheelers, a charitable medical transportation service. The bike is used to transport human blood and any other small medical items that are required by hospitals. The blue light are only used in exceptional circumstances when human life is at stake.



The rear view of the 53-reg bike. The registration has been partially disguised here.

K453 GYC Here is the first motorbike that Freewheelers used when they started in 1991. It is a red Yamaha Diversion 600 and is decked out in a simple livery with blue lights added.



The rear view of the Yamaha showing the panniers and rack.

LC05 FUP SERV started using this Yamaha fjr1300abs bike in 2007 to help cope with the increased demands placed on the blood runners charity.

MT55 WHK is a NBS Ford Focus used for urgent blood transfers. This night time shot shows the blinding blue lights fitted to the roof, windscreen and wings.

DA54 YYD This Mercedes Benz Sprinter is one of a number that are operated by the NBS. They have a refrigerated section in the rear to transport blood and blood products at the optimum 2-4 degrees Celsius. They are also fitted with blue lights all round.

WX53 ZLY Here is a 55-registration Ford Transit Connect and a 53-registration DAF truck both belonging to the National Blood Service. They both carry the same livery of a wide red stripe. The truck is a ‘bloodmobile’ which allows people to donate blood in a mobile hospital-style environment. The Transit Connect is used to carry around supplies of blood and related paraphernalia.



The rear view of the Ford Transit Connect. It carries a full-width light bar at the front of the roof and has two repeater blue lights at the rear of the roof. The Road Traffic Act permits the NBS to use blue flashing lights when an urgent request comes in from a hospital. However they cannot break the speed limit when using them which can sometimes appear unusual to following drivers.

RO04 EWA This Honda Pan European 1300 is the second marked vehicle to be used by SERV (Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers). This volunteer organisation delivers blood products to hospitals across Southern England at night, when NHS services are limited. It carries ‘blood’ wording and blue flashing lights.

GP05 MVS This is a Honda Deauville belonging to SERV. It has green and yellow checker markings and clear ‘blood’ wording. There are no emergency warning lights.



The rear view of the Deauville in use. The National Blood Service box is securely attached behind the rider. You can see that there are lots of ’emergency blood’ signs, and the SERV logo has also been added to the panniers.

MA54 LCF This NBS Ford Transit is fitted with blue lights so it can deliver blood if it is urgently needed. There are a fleet of identical vehicles up and down England and North Wales.



The rear view of the same Transit, showing the simple advertising message ‘Please Give Blood’.

T156 TNA A NBS Transit with blue lights. This example shows the previous livery, a wide blue side stripe. The message is different on this older vehicle: ‘Blood Donors … Help Save Lives’.

W707 XVS To move a small amount of blood or people, the NBS use cars and mpv’s. This Vauxhall Zafira multi-purpose vehicle carries a red and yellow chequered stripe with large ‘blood’ wording. The roof is marked with ‘NBS’ to distinguish this vehicle from a police or ambulance vehicle from the air.

LT53 ALD is a Ford Transit Connect diesel van operated by a private courier service. The only marking on the vehicle to signify that it is used for transporting blood is the wording on the roof mounted light bar.

MX03 GUF This Ford Focus TDCi estate is used for the urgent transportation of blood by the National Blood Service.



The front view. Notice the slim blue light bar and the blue strobe light next to the rear view mirror. You can also see the roof markings stating ‘urgent blood’.



The side view of the same car. The NBS originally had a wide blue stripe down the sides of their vehicles (both emergency, and non-emergency), examples of which can be seen in other blood service pages. More recently, they have adopted a (very appropriate) wide red stripe. This rapid deployment vehicle has a third livery of red and yellow battenburg, which is similar in appearance to some fire service cars.



The rear and nearside views. The ‘phone number, website address and ‘NHS’ logo can all be seen.

DX03 MHL The 2003 livery for the non-emergency blood service vehicles replaces the wide blue stripe with a more appropriate red one. This is shown on this DAF LF.

T933 APP This is the 2003 battenburg livery of the National Blood Service emergency vehicles. The car pictured is a police specification Vauxhall Vectra with a V6 2.5-litre engine. It has blue strobes in the front and rear indicator clusters as well as a light bar on the roof.

N667 EUM This Renault 21 estate is used for emergency transportation of blood and hence has blue lights and a siren.



The rear view of the Renault emergency blood transportation car seen above.



The side view.

K822 EWJ is a Ford Sierra estate used for the emergency transport of blood products. This is one of the last Sierras before the Mondeo replaced it.

P86 YJR is not a blood service vehicle, but it does do a similar job. This ambulance is used solely for the transportation of human organs. The drivers are on call to respond to organ transportation emergencies. There may be a liver at ‘A’ wanted by a patient at ‘B’; and it’s life span outside of a human body is severely limited.