Pet Blood Donation

We host regular canine blood donation session alongside the Pet Blood Bank at our Beezon Road surgery. These run throughout the day time, by appointment only. The donor dogs must fulfill certain health criteria. We need dogs who:

• Are aged 1 to 8 years old (dogs must be under 8 years of age for their first donation)
• Weigh over 25kgs (55lbs) of lean bodyweight
• Are in good general health
• Are up to date with their vaccinations
• Are ideally not on any medications (but do ask Pet Blood Bank if you have any queries)
• Have never travelled abroad
• Have no history of heart murmurs, seizures or fainting episodes
• Have not received a blood transfusion
• Would be able to lie quietly for 5-10 minutes during a donation whilst receiving lots of attention from the collection team

Certain breeds are ideal as they tend to have a negative blood type which can be transfused in to any other dog. However, any dog that meets the above criteria may donate. The favoured donor breeds are:

• Airedales
• American Bull Dogs
• Border Collies
• Boxers
• Dobermans
• Dogue de Bordeaux
• English Bull Terriers
• Flat Coated Retrievers
• German Shepherds
• Greyhounds
• Lurchers
• Old English Sheepdogs
• Pointers (English)
• Weimaranas

Please visit the Pet Blood Bank to register your dog and arrange an appointment for donation. On the day, a Vet from the Pet Blood bank team will carry out a health screen of your dog, including two blood tests, to ensure that they are able to donate. Donation then takes around 15 minutes, approximately 450mls of blood is collected from a vein the neck whilst the dog is awake and lying down. Following donation, dogs are given a small snack and a drink of water before a final check is carried out and a goodie bag is given to take home.

Each dog will spend up to an hour in the clinic from start to finish.

A single donation can save the lives of up to four dogs. Donors are able to give blood 3 – 4 times per year. To register your interest for your dog, please click here.