Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers / Service by Emergency Response Volunteers, or SERV, is the name used by a number of

blood bike A blood bike is a specialist motorcycle modified for use as a courier vehicle for the prompt transportation of urgent and emergency medical items; primarily including blood, and also including X-rays, tissue samples, surgical tools, human milk ...

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

based in England, whose

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

s provide a

motorcycle courier A motorcycle courier, also known as a despatch rider or motorcycle messenger, is a courier using a motorcycle. Motorcycle couriers are common in the major urban centres of Europe, South America (especially Brazil), Asia and North America. ...

service, free of charge, to the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

and the air ambulance charities. The original SERV group was established in 1981.

SERV groups

Charities that use the SERV name operate across England: *SERV Surrey & London, *SERV Sussex, *SERV Kent, *SERV Ox Bucks Berks and Northants (OBN), *SERV Suffolk and Cambridge, *SERV Norfolk, *SERV Wessex, *SERV Herts & Beds. Their volunteers work outside normal office hours and use either their own or the charity's dedicated response

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

s to transport items such as blood for transfusion, blood samples for

pathological Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

microbiological Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular (single-celled), multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virol ...

analysis, drugs, patient notes,

x-rays An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

, scans,

medical equipment A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

, samples, vaccines and donated

human breast milk Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by the mammary glands in the breasts of women. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborn infants, comprising fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and a va ...

. The SERV groups work closely with other blood bike groups when transport over longer distances is required, these are known as 'relay runs'. Some of the SERV groups were founder members of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB).

Recognition & COVID-19

SERV charities clock up thousands of runs each year, and rely solely on donations to run. Many SERV charities have been recognised for their work by receiving the

Queen's Award for Voluntary Service The King's Award for Voluntary Service, previously known as The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, is an annual award given to groups in the voluntary sector of the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies. Until 2022, awardees were announce ...

(QVAS), most recently SERV Surrey and London and SERV Kent received their awards in 2020 and SERV Herts & Beds in 2022 for services during the pandemic.

Cars and four-wheeled Vehicles

Blood bike groups also have four-wheel vehicles for day-to-day use, and some groups only use four wheels when conditions deteriorate in the winter. Similarly to the motorcycles, all vehicles are bought and run purely on donations.

Air Ambulance

SERV charities often resupply regional air ambulances with blood products on a 24/7, 365 basis. This does involve volunteers going out and performing restock runs on Christmas Day. SERV Surrey & London and SERV Kent both restock the Kent, Surrey, Sussex Air Ambulance (AAKSS), SERV Suffolk restocks the East Anglian Air Ambualnce, and so on.

References

{{Authority control Charities based in the United Kingdom