Odd Courier Jobs - Just Another Day on the Road

For all the regular parcels and deliveries handled on a daily basis, courier jobs often involve some strange deliveries as well. Indeed, those entering the profession for the first time probably won’t have to deliver too many parcels before they get to one that is unusual for some reason or another.

Here we look into one area in particular that offers a range of strange deliveries most drivers will have to deal with at one time or another. It is the area of human deliveries – not delivering people per se, but delivering… well, read on and find out.

Human organs

When it comes to organ transplants it is necessary to get the donor organ to its intended destination as quickly as possible. Hence you need it to be delivered by a team you can trust. Certain specialised drivers are trusted with human organs for just such a delivery. It is quite a sobering thought to do this when you think about it, isn’t it? Normally we think about regular deliveries of ordered goods and parcels of all kinds, but you don’t think that some deliveries could actually save lives.

Blood

Another human item that is regularly sent from one place to another, depending on requirements, is blood. Again, not all delivery workers are qualified to handle this, but it is certainly the case that some are trusted with this task. When a reliable firm is found it tends to be used quite often for this purpose.

Pathology samples

These come in all shapes and sizes and generally consist of human cells or tissue samples that have been taken for analysis. Again, with this type of delivery time is very much of the essence in getting it safely from A to B. A sample may only be small, but it is extremely fragile and must not be contaminated in any way.

The gift of life

Yes, some drivers have to transport sperm as part of their regular array of courier jobs! This may not have been a big delivery size wise but it is often certainly time sensitive when it comes to invitro-fertilisation programmes.

As you can see, not all courier jobs are straightforward or common in nature. Typically speaking, a specific company will be entrusted with the task of getting such samples and packages from A to B quickly, safely, securely and without damaging the contents. These companies will then handle lots of these deliveries on a regular basis.

It just goes to show you never know what could be in the back of a delivery van when you see it out and about delivering parcels in your neighbourhood! Parcels and packages really do come in lots of different shapes and sizes, and you certainly can't judge a book by its cover in many cases.

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day courier jobs in the express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.