MEET THE LEICESTER TEAM THAT RUNS THE UK’S ONLY PET BLOOD BANK

The Loughborough charity is looking for new donors

The county is home to the headquarters of a one of a kind charity which helps pets in need all over the country.

Pet Blood Bank UK has its processing centre in Loughborough, and it works to provide vets across the UK with a blood supply for sick dogs.

The charity was founded in 2007 and runs a 24-hour service, answering calls from vets who need blood to save a dog’s life.

Nicole Osborne, marketing manager at Pet Blood Bank UK, has said the charity hopes to help more kinds of animals in the future.

She said: “Like humans, dogs need blood – for many different reasons.”They may have had an accident, an injury, a disease or trauma – it’s the same as for us.

“The most common response we get from people when they hear about the bank is that people say of course they need blood, but they had never really thought about it before.

“They are always very intrigued that it exists, but it seems obvious when you think about it.

“Owners don’t often realise until they need some for their pet.”

Before the charity was founded, there was legislation in place which meant you couldn’t process and store animal blood.

Nicole said: “On evenings and weekends it was difficult for vets to get blood, and they would have to find their own donors.

“They would have to find some from their clients, and maybe even have to use their staff’s dogs.

“To source a donor, particularly on evenings and weekends, was very difficult, so there was a need for a blood bank.”

The legislation was changed in 2005, and led to the charity being founded over the next two years.

In 2006, following extensive research into blood banking both in the UK and abroad, vet nurse Wendy Barnett, with the agreement of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and emergency pet service Vets Now agreed to the formation of the charity.

It was launched with an eight-month pilot, led by Jenny Walton, and started with sessions being held in Durham, with the blood processed in Gateshead.

The blood bank moved its headquarters to Loughborough at the end of the year, and it was given official charity status in 2007.

How it works

The team from the charity travel around the country five days a week, setting up donation centres in vet practices.

Nicole said: “We don’t have one space, but we visit a different vet practice each day and use their space, which they have kindly volunteered.”

The blood they collect is then transported back to Loughborough for processing, before being stored and shipped to the places that need it.

Nicole continued: “We operate a 24-hour service, so vets can phone us at any time, when they need us.

“We have an out-of-hours team who will go in and pick up an order, which can then be couriered to the vet practice that needs it.”

How donations work

To donate blood, owners need to register on the charity website and they will be informed when the charity will be taking donations in their area.

There are also a number of criteria the dog must fulfil. They must be between the ages of one and eight, weigh more than 25kg and be fit and healthy.

They must also have a good temperament, have never travelled abroad, be vaccinated and not on any medication.

Once the owner arrives with their dog at the donation centre, the appointment is split into three parts.

First, dogs receive a pre-donation health check from the vet. This is to check they are fit and healthy to donate that day.

Next, the dog will go into the donation room where they will donate about 450ml of blood – which is why only big dogs can donate. This takes between five and 10 minutes.

After their donation, dogs get their “tea and biscuits”, which is a drink of water and a snack. They are given a goody bag to take home, which contains a toy and some treats.

Dogs also get their photo taken for the charity’s Facebook page, wearing a red “life-saver banner”.One donation can save the lives of up to four other dogs.

Nicole explained: “Just like us, dogs have different blood types. Dogs have a type called DEA 1 and they can be either positive or negative.

“Around 70 per cent of dogs are positive and 30 per cent are negative.”

She said that the negative blood type is more in demand, because any dog can take the negative blood type, while only positive blood-type dogs can take positive blood.

Therefore, breeds that are in demand by the blood bank are German shepherds, dobermans, flat coated retrievers, pointers, greyhounds, lurchers and boxers, because they are more likely to have the negative blood type.

Dogs can donate blood up to six times a year.

Nicole explained that things have been difficult due to the coronavirus pandemic, as they are having to work out of a mobile unit, which they park up in vet practice car parks.

She added: “Owners need to wait outside because of social distancing, and that reduces the number of dogs that can come, because some cannot cope without their owners.

“We are grateful that many owners have trusted us to take care of their dogs during the donation.”

A new van

As well as struggling to get new donors, the charity is also facing a hefty bill of £18,000 for a new van which is used to take the donation team across the country.

Earlier this year, the car that the charity used “packed up” and they have had to buy a new one – but at a price.

So, Pet Blood Bank UK has set up a JustGiving page for people who may want to donate to help them cover the cost of the van to help them save more pets’ lives.

Nicole said: “We’ve got just over £2,000 so far, but are trying to fund-raise to cover most of the cost.”