Dog Blood Donation

It’s probably fair to say that the topic of dog blood donation is one that most dog owners know very little about. Therefore we would like to explore the subject in some detail. By increasing knowledge of the subject it’s hoped that more dog owners will consider letting their dogs become donors.

Dog Blood Types

There are actually more than 12 different blood groups in dogs. A dog’s red blood cells can contain more than one blood type as blood group is inherited in dogs. For the purposes of this article we will simply split blood types into positive and negative.

A dog with negative blood can donate to both positive and negative dogs. A dog with positive blood however can only donate to another dog with positive blood. Only 30% of dogs have a negative blood type and it’s currently in short supply. Read on to discover how to find out if your dog could help save other dogs’ lives.

Dog Blood Donation – Typical Reasons Dogs Need Blood Donations

There are a number of reasons why a dog might require a blood transfusion. Typically these could include:

• Road traffic accident
• Poisoning
• Exercise injuries
• Major surgery
• Infections
• Certain illnesses (dogs that are anaemic or have certain parasites).

Dog Blood Donation – Pet Blood Bank Charity

Launched in 2007, Pet Blood Bank UK is the only charity that provides a dog blood service to vets within the UK. Canine blood is taken from dogs at various sessions organised across the country. It is then taken to their processing centre in Loughborough where it is separated into red blood cells and plasma products.

The charity is keen for more people to sign up for this service. They are particularly keen to hear from owners with certain breeds which are known to be more likely to have a negative blood type. For more information about how you can help please visit their website as follows:

Pet Blood Bank

Breeds Which Commonly Have Negative Blood Type

There is currently a campaign to raise awareness of dog blood donation. Since negative blood is in short supply the charity is especially keen to hear from owners with the following breeds which commonly have a negative blood type.

• German Shepherd
• Doberman
• Greyhound
• Old English Sheepdogs
• Boxers
• Lurchers
• Flat Coat Retrievers

The charity has a few other criteria which they say makes dogs especially good candidates for donation. These include:

• Good temperament
• Aged between 1-8 years
• Over 25kg in weight
• Fit and healthy
• Up to date with vaccinations
• Never travelled abroad