Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers (SERV Sussex) is a registered charity (No. 284455) initially set up in 1981. As a charity, SERV Sussex has provided, and continues to provide a FREE, rapid and reliable means of transporting emergency blood products, patient notes, time-critical laboratory samples and test results to hospitals and medical facilities at night, on request.     

Our expertise resulted in the charity being approached by midwives and milkbanks to collect and deliver human donor milk across the South-East. Through a group of enthusiastic and empathetic volunteers, we currently provide FREE support to Hearts milkbank; we collect untreated milk for onward transport to Harpenden and deliver milk to disadvantaged mothers at their homes if they are unable to get to the hospital. Giving breast milk to premature babies protects them against a life-threatening gut infection, necrotising enterocolitis, and helps their development. 

We are now in the process of setting up a milk hub in Sussex linked with Hearts milkbank.
The Impact of the Project: This will allow us to expand our support of new mothers in the community who require donor human milk. The proposed milk hub will be used to stored collected, donor milk for onward bulk transport to Hearts milkbank; local collection will utilise both volunteer’s and SERV fleet motorbikes, with onward bulk transport using our fleet of hybrid vehicles. The SERV vehicle will return with treated donor milk to be stored in separate freezers, prior to distribution to local mothers using motorbikes.

Donated breastmilk helps babies in need to get the best start in life. It contains all the nutrients (at least 400) that a baby needs and contains hormones and disease-fighting compounds which cannot be found in formula milk. Some babies are allergic to formula milk. If their mothers cannot temporarily provide enough breastmilk for whatever reason, these babies urgently need donated milk. Breastmilk is also required by premature babies to protect them against a life-threatening gut infection.

Our success will be measured by increased survival of premature babies and supporting mothers in the local community. Donor milk will be providing essential food and protecting babies against a life-threatening gut infection, necrotising enterocolitis, helping their development in the long term.