Pet Blood Bank
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We take approximately 450ml of blood during a donation from your dog. The blood is taken from the jugular vein in your dog's neck and goes into a special blood collection bag containing anti-coagulants to stop the blood from clotting. The collection set has four bags attached to the tubing, one bag is used to collect the blood and the others are used during processing.
At the end of the collection session the units of blood collected are transported to our processing centre in Loughborough. The blood is transported in a protective box which allows it to cool down gradually to around 20 degress Centigrade. This is the optimum temperature for the processing stage.
When the blood arrives at our processing centre, the lab team inspects each unit of blood and logs the unique reference number which relates to your dog's donor number. This means every unit of blood can be traced back to the donor dog.
The tubing and needle are removed in sterile conditions and the unit of blood is weighed and placed in the centrifuge. It is then spun at 3,800 revolutions per minute, for fifteen minutes to allow the red blood cells to separate from the plasma.
When the unit is removed from the centrifuge the lab team carefully transfers the plasma into one of the other collection bags and the red cell nutrient is added to the red cells in the other bag to extend their shelf life to six weeks. Both are labelled with the unique reference numbers.
The plasma is placed in the minus eighty degrees Centigrade freezer to be frozen. Once frozen it is transferred into the minus thirty four degrees Centigrade freezer for storage for up to five years.
The red blood cells are placed in a special refrigerator and stored at four degrees Centigrade for up to six weeks.
The units of plasma and red blood cells are stored at Pet Blood Bank until they are needed by a vet for a patient.
When needed, the unit of plasma or red blood cells is packed carefully in temperature controlled boxes to ensure the temperature is maintained at the correct level until the blood reaches the vet. When it arrives, it is carefully warmed to body temperature before being given in a blood transfusion to a sick or injured dog.
Watch our video about Tara to see the difference a donation makes....
More information for prospective donor owners
