29-Nov-2007

Rapid response teams from express delivery experts TNT are keeping supplies of blood and blood-related products flowing to hospitals the length and breadth of England and North Wales.

Now into its second year of operation, TNT Sameday provides a 30-minute response time for the delivery of up to half-a-million units of blood under an agreement with the National Blood Service (NBS).

TNT Sameday drivers transport ad hoc blood consignments from the National Blood Service's 15 UK Issue centres to hospitals across England and North Wales as part of an annual contract worth in excess of a million pounds.

The TNT team is also responsible for contributing to the daily collection of blood from the NBS's 100 mobile donor units - to the test centres. The company is also called upon to provide a vital resource in emergency situations, as evidenced in the wake of the July 7th London underground bombings, when TNT doubled the amount of drivers deployed on day-to-day blood collections.

Dean Roberts, Business Development Manager, TNT Sameday, said: "We work to demanding performance targets with the National Blood Service. It's a real challenge every day - as soon as an order is placed, we have to collect within 30 minutes - otherwise this could compromise the integrity of the blood supplies.

"Not many people realise that TNT- by working closely with the NBS - contributes to the blood supply chain throughout England and North Wales.

"Our network capability, our breath of experience in the 'sameday' delivery sector and our ability to provide a bespoke solution for customers, means that we're clearly a valued partner for the National Blood Service."

Since starting work for NBS, TNT has developed other working relationships with other parts of the National Health Service, including the Welcome Trust Case Control Consortium and the Testing Assessment Facility.