Ipswich Covid jab bus to become mobile blood bank in Ukraine

Bus 972 will begin its journey to the Ukrainian border with Poland, early next week

A bus that has been used to vaccinate people against Covid-19 will be sent to Ukraine to act as a mobile blood bank.

The Ipswich Buses vehicle will travel 1,500 miles (2,414 km) via ferry to the Netherlands, then drive through Germany and Poland, to the Ukrainian border.

The company is appealing for donations, including mattresses, bedding and clothing, which it will take so the bus can also offer humanitarian aid.

Baby milk and dry foods were also "urgently needed", it said.

More than 1.2m people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, the UN says

Ipswich Buses said Ipswich and East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group had allowed the bus to be released from its vaccination duties in the county.

The bus company is also working in partnership with the Emergency First Response organisation.

Donated goods can be brought to the company's garage on Constantine Road, Ipswich, where it would be loaded on the bus, it said.

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