As most of the population takes a rest over Christmas, a group of Galway volunteers will be taking to the roads to ensure critical medical supplies are where they need to be.

Blood Bike West runs a year-round emergency out-of-hours service supporting patients across Connacht – and like every other year, they are gearing up this week to provide round-the-clock supports to healthcare facilities in Galway during the festive period.

From next Tuesday, December 23, until January 4, they will be on the roads 24 hours a day – and while ‘blood bikes’ suggests the movement of donor blood is their primary task, Treasurer of Blood Bikes West, Dave O’Leary, explains that their role has expanded far beyond what it was when local group was founded in 2012.

“When Blood Bike West started in 2012, it was the first of these organisations in the country and there are now several around Ireland.

“It started with transporting blood but now we transport everything from scans and medical records to samples and breast milk,” he explains.

Donor breast milk is required for vulnerable infants is provided to premature and ill babies in neonatal and paediatric intensive care units, that their own mothers cannot provide to meet their babies’ needs – and it can be lifesaving.

Dave says this involves liaising with the Human Milk Bank in Enniskillen where the milk is processed and dispatched to Athlone, for Dave and his colleagues to collect and transport to neo-natal units in Galway and elsewhere.

They also transfer donated milk going back up to Enniskillen, and various patient samples that need urgent transfer to laboratories.

“Our main mission is to promote wellbeing and expedite treatment. We are filling that out-of-hours need for patients – and for the facilities treating them that either don’t have the capability or the capacity to do it.

Pictured: Santa joined the Blood Bike West volunteers on Cross Street, Galway City, this week.

nfo@bloodbikewest.ie.