The Hour

Everybody knows that the NHS need a constant supply of blood donors, but it’s not just people who can need a blood transfusion. This Saturday, May 14, the Pet Blood Bank will be holding a collection session between 9am and 3pm and they are appealing for dog owners to register their pooch.

To lead by example, five-year-old boxer Lexi bravely stepped up to the plate with The Hour cameras there to film the whole day. Also along for support was owner Susan Campbell, who knew that Lexi would get on alright.

She said: “She’s quite excited, she loves all the attention. During the donation as long as she gets plenty cuddles she tends to fall asleep and afterwards she gets lots of tasty treats so it’s all worth while.”

To give blood, dogs need to weigh at least 25kg, be aged between one and eight years old and ideally will be able to give up a pint. They also need to be behaved enough to let the vets work.

It’s also key that they be up-to-date with their vaccinations and should not have travelled abroad. So it’s better if your faithful hound is an English setter rather than a jet setter.

As an added plus, donors who are not already micro-chipped will be chipped free of charge when they donate. This is to ensure their traceability.

“We have been open since 2007,” said Jenny Walton from Pet Blood Bank UK. “Vets do require blood products for surgical cases and trauma cases and we try to make sure that blood is on hand and available whenever need be.”

One such case of a dog who benefited from the innovative scheme was 12 year old Lab Rory who suffered sudden blood loss after his owner Grace noticed him acting strangely.

Rory has since made a full recovery thanks in part to blood donations from the Pet Blood Bank.

Owner Grace MacLeod said: “Rory was perfectly fit and healthy and one evening came into the kitchen and sneezed and had a terrible nose bleed.

“We took him to our vet, and whilst there blood came out his mouth. He had to be resuscitated at the vets. Without blood transfusion he would have died.”

This weekend’s blood donation will be taking place in the Vets Now Referral Hospital at Charing Cross in Glasgow. For more information visit the Pet Blood Bank website.