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Blood Donors

Injury can lead to severe blood loss. Life-threatening anaemia may result, requiring blood transfusion. A blood donor dog might be sought at very short notice; often another owners dog is used. Rarely is no donor found. The problem is that blood has to be relatively fresh and readily available. Artificial blood products are available, but are costly compared with blood donated by another dog. Blood donation takes planning and organisation, but successful blood donation saves a life and is enormously satisfying to everyone involved. As in humans, suitable dogs can donate more than once.

Many practices need healthy, large, mature donors that can be called upon at short notice to donate. If you are interested, speak to your vet. You can also register on a website that tries to connect donors and vets looking for blood. Visit www.dogblooddonors.com
Harvey Caruthers

Dogs can safely give blood four times a year. Taking blood usually takes between five and ten minutes, depending on the dog, but owners are advised to allow 40 minutes for their appointment so that a health check can be done before hand.

Your dog could be a potential blood donor if he meets the following criteria:

1.    Has a good temperament
2.    Is happy and relaxed about going to the vet's and isn't scared of needles
3. Weighs over 25kg
4.    Is up to date with all vaccinations
5.    Has never travelled abroad
6.    Is aged between one and eight years of age
7.    Is fit and healthy
8.    Hasn't previously recieved a blood transfusion
9. Is microchipped
10. You are willing to attend a blood collection session at a veterinary practice

Queen Mother Hospital for Animals

Blood Donor Programme

What is the Blood Donor Programme?
Blood transfusions are an important part of the treatment of many of the critically ill patients, like Susie that we see at the Royal Veterinary College each year. Over the last 10 years, many animals’ lives have been saved thanks to the transfusions they have received. As the hospitals become busier, we are performing an increasing number of transfusions each year.

The shortage of blood can be particularly acute in the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals (QMHA). Advances in treatments, increasing patient numbers (especially emergency patients) and our open heart surgery programme mean supplies of blood and blood products are often stretched.

To improve the supply of blood and blood products for transfusion we run a volunteer Blood Donor Programme for dogs. This is run very much like the volunteer human scheme organised by the National Blood Service. Our blood donor team consists of both specialist veterinary surgeons and dedicated nurses who get to know the owners and our donor dogs very well.

We rely on healthy dogs to donate the blood needed for vital transfusions. These donor dogs have helped save many lives and for the donors it is a simple and stress free procedure. To continue to help our patients we need an increasing number of dogs willing to donate. The blood donated by one dog can be split into several components and help more than one patient.

In addition to donation sessions at the QMHA the team also travel out to various parts of the south of England. If you are willing to bring your dog to the QMHA or one of these donor sessions please contact the team. Also if you are willing to host a donation session we would be very keen to hear from you.

Can my dog give blood?
We are always looking for additional donors. Both for the safety of the donor and the blood products, there are a number of requirements that potential donors must meet. Canine donors should:

Be between 1 and 8 years of age blooddonor02

Weigh more than 25 kg

Be generally healthy and receive regular veterinary preventative health care

Have an even temperament

Have not travelled outside the UK

Can my cat give blood?

Cat blood is often needed but because of technical reasons a similar storage programme is not yet in operation. Instead when there is an anticipation that cat blood may be needed, cat donors remain on stand-by and only donate if and when the blood is actually needed.

Free health screening
As with the human blood donation scheme there is a health screening prior to donation. Before each donation, your dog will get a full health check performed by one of our veterinary surgeons and, once a year, a full blood panel will be performed free of charge.

What happens at a donor session?
After your pet has their clinical examination by a veterinary surgeon, they are taken to a quiet area in the hospital where the collection equipment is set up. A small amount of hair (about 2 inches by 2 inches) is clipped from the underside of the neck. This is so the team can clearly see the jugular vein and also so the skin can be thoroughly cleaned. A local anaesthetic cream is applied to the neck so the dogs cannot feel anything during the collection. Some dogs prefer to sit, others to lie, as the needle is introduced into the vein and the blood is collected. After the needle is withdrawn a small bandage is applied round the neck to reduce the risk of any bruising and after a few minutes rest your pet is returned to you.

Susie’s story
Susie, a young Jack Russell Terrier, was saved by a blood transfusion. She had a condition called immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia which meant that her body was destroying her own red blood cells. Susie's red blood cell count was so low that she would have died if she had not received a blood suzie

transfusion from Molly, one of our regular donors. Molly’s blood gave us time to get Susie’s disease under control, and she has now made a full recovery.

“A special thank you to all owners of dogs who donate blood for use at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals. Without this blood we would have lost the life of our lovely dog Susie”

Click here to download our Blood Donor Programme leaflet

Blood Bank for Dogs is Launched