THE recent snow and ice brought much of Southampton, and the country, to a standstill.

But it did not stop heroic NHS staff in the city, who drove through treacherous conditions to deliver stem cells for a leukaemia patient undergoing a vital transplant.

Hospital workers helped save the patient’s life by battling through the bad weather to deliver the cells in time.

Biomedical scientists Geoff White and Sue Bartlett drove the three-hour journey from their base in Coxford Road, Southampton – where the stem cells had been processed – to St George’s Hospital in Tooting where the patient was being prepped for their scheduled transplant.

The stem cells are usually delivered by contractors, but due to the snow and bad weather the drivers had been advised to stay off the roads.

Not wanting to let the patient down, Geoff and Sue decided to wrap themselves up and hit the road with the precious cells and emergency supplies of tea and cake.

Sue, 42, from Shirley, said: “A colleague of ours had just had a birthday so there was lots of cake in the office.

“We made sure we took plenty of that and hot drinks to get us through the journey.

“When we got to St George’s we handed over the stem cells to the transplant nurse who was surprised to see us.

“The patient was at the hospital having had their last round of chemo ready for the transplant, so it was imperative that the stem cells got there.”

The transplant was a success and Sue and Geoff made it back to Southampton in one piece.

Michaela Mayhew, stem cell transplant nurse coordinator at St George’s, said: “Geoff and Sue truly went the extra mile for our patients by hand delivering the stem cells last week during the bad weather spell.

“We really appreciate their support and willingness to get them here when other transport couldn’t.

“Thank you so much.”

The recent severe weather meant that NHS Blood and Transplant also took a hit on blood and platelet stocks – which meant it lost up to 7,000 donations, the equivalent of a whole day’s stock.

It is appealing for donors of all blood groups to walk into one of its fixed site donor centres or to book an appointment.

Extra appointments have been added to some existing sessions throughout March and extra sessions are also being planned to help boost stock levels.

Visit www.blood.co.uk for more information.