Rutland: New dog blood bank service to open

A new blood bank service for dogs is set to open in Rutland.

Dog owners are being urged to take in their pets to one of its new regular donation sessions at Oakham Veterinary Hospital from 6 March.

Pet Blood Bank UK (PBBUK) said every donation can help to save the lives of up to four other dogs.

Nicole Osborne, from the Loughborough-based charity, said they were “looking forward to meeting lots of new donors to help save the lives of dogs across the country”.

PBBUK, which launched in 2007, says it is the only charity which provides a blood bank service for vets across the UK.

The charity said the donation process was essentially the same as the human blood service, but for canines.

Appointments will take around 40-minutes and each dog will receive a full health check, which will take ten minutes, before it donates.

Dogs which make a donation are also given a goody bag and toy to take home.

To be eligible, a dog must weigh more than 25kg, be between the ages of one and eight and be fit and healthy.

It is also important they are confident and comfortable with new experiences and meeting new people, the charity said.

Ms Osborne added: “We welcome any dog that meets our donor criteria to come along and donate blood, regardless of their breed or cross of breeds.

“Just like humans, dogs have different blood types and transfusions are given based on this.

“Dogs have two blood types: positive and negative. Negative blood is in high demand as this can be given to any dog in an emergency while positive blood can only be given to other positive patients.

“This means any breed can donate to any breed.

“However, we do see trends by breed and certain dogs are more likely to have negative blood type, some of these include Greyhounds, Boxers, Dobermanns, German Shepherds, Flat Coated Retrievers, and Weimaraners.”

PBBUK has encouraged dog owners to register their pet via its website.

Donation sessions will take place in Oakham every two to three months.