Pet Blood Bank, the canine blood donation charity set up by Vets Now, received an unusual visit last week when an entire family of Labradors belonging to five different owners arrived to donate blood at a collection session at Vets 4 Pets in Sunderland.
Ellie (mum), Scooby, (dad) arrived with daughters Daphne, Bonty and Poppy and sons Jasper and Zac, all loyal supporters of Pet Blood Bank who between them have donated a whopping 31 units of blood over the past two years. The blood donated by the family will have potentially saved the lives of over 120 dogs who have required urgent blood transfusions due to life threatening illness, dogs like Narla Raw, a Middlesbrough puppy whose life hung in the balance after she became infected with the parvo virus.
Narla, a 7 month old Rottweiler was admitted to the Vets Now clinic in Middlesbrough for investigation of severe vomiting and diahorrea. She was fully vaccinated but due to the presenting signs it was decided to test her for parvo virus immediately and unfortunately it was positive. Narla’s owners had asked for everything to be done to try and pull her through, knowing how serious parvo virus is and that she only had a slim chance of saving her.
After 24 hours of hospitalisation and intensive nursing, she was weakening fast so it was decided that she should receive a transfusion of Pet Blood Bank product, frozen plasma. This provided some protein, but also antibodies against parvo virus that the donor dog would have had in their circulation, both of which helped Narla to continue to fight the raging viral infection she had.
She underwent further intensive treatment in an isolation ward and after two transfusions and six days of intensive care she finally showed signs of improvement and started to eat again. She was then discharged to her delighted owners, Mr and Mrs Raw and their three children. If Narla hasn’t had access to Pet Blood Bank products, she would almost certainly have died.
Commenting on the appearance of the ‘Magnificent Seven’, Jenny Walton, Veterinary Supervisor for Pet Blood Bank said ; “We were absolutely delighted to see the whole family trotting into the practice on Thursday to do their bit for Pet Blood Bank and are so grateful to all their owners for the support they have shown PBB over the years. Many people are still unaware that a canine blood donation service exists within the UK and we always ask dog owners to think about what they would do if their dog was critically ill and required a blood transfusion.”
She added; “We’ve had nearly 2,500 dogs donate since we launched in 2007, many of whom come back regularly to donate. We supply blood and plasma products to veterinary practices, referral centres and small animal hospitals all over the UK and estimate that around 9000 dogs’ lives have been saved because their vets had access to Pet Blood Bank products.”
Marina Kynoch, Scooby’s owner said; “We’re huge supporters of Pet Blood Bank. Scooby has donated nine times so far and Daphne has donated seven times. I would hate to think what might happen if either of my dogs were in a situation where their lives were dependent on a transfusion and there was no blood available so I’m passionate about supporting the charity and regularly contribute to the Facebook page, sharing stories with other donor owners and trying to encourage other owners to help their dog become a hairy hero and save another dog’s life.”
Pet Blood Bank is urging dogs which meet the necessary criteria to donate and in particular has an appeal for breeds which are more likely to have negative blood, which is in short supply at the moment. To donate dogs should meet the following criteria:
· donors should have a good temperament
· be aged between one and eight years old
· weigh more than 25 kilos
· should not have travelled abroad
· should be up-to-date on all vaccinations
· should be fit and healthy
For more information about Pet Blood Bank, or to register your dog as a donor, please visit www.petbloodbankuk.org.