Thank you for choosing Pet Blood Bank UK as your supplier of blood products and consumables (non-blood products). These products are supplied to veterinary practices to support transfusion medicine. Pet Blood Bank holds a Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) licence to supply blood products to veterinary practices; authorisation number ABB 30549/8000.
Account holders
Veterinary practices that wish to purchase blood products may request that an account be opened with Pet Blood Bank via the customer registration form on our website. When opening an account, the veterinary surgeon, owner, partner, director, or authorised member of staff must agree to the terms and conditions of supply as set out by the charity in this document, and must accept the declaration at the end of the document. The decision to supply blood products is at the discretion of the charity.
Please note: Pet Blood Bank UK is a VAT registered organisation. If your organisation is VAT exempt, a VAT exemption certificate must be provided at the time of setting up an account.
Ordering
Urgent orders can be placed by phoning 01509 232222.
Non-urgent orders should be placed using the online ordering system on our website. For next day delivery (Monday – Friday), orders must be received by 3pm.
Pet Blood Bank endeavours to supply blood products as promptly as possible. However, if a specific product is unavailable your order will be placed on back order and the order fulfilled at the earliest opportunity. We will inform you of any items placed on back order within 24 hours (Monday – Friday) of your order being received and, where possible, offer an alternative product or solution.
Pet Blood Bank recommends that veterinary practices keep blood products and ancillary items in stock at their practice to avoid shortfall of supply in an emergency. However, the out-of-hours service for emergency orders (01509 232222) will endeavour to dispatch products within 90 minutes from request (subject to availability).
Delivery
Pet Blood Bank uses an external courier service and although the charity endeavours to ensure that all deliveries are made in a timely manner, delayed delivery issues are outside of our control and responsibility. Pet Blood Bank will endeavour to keep the practice informed of any delays and work with you and the courier to minimise disruption to the delivery of the order.
Delivery options
Orders for next day delivery must be received by 3pm Monday – Friday with delivery options of:
- Next day before 9am
- Next day before 10.30am
- Next day before 12 noon
- Saturday before 12 noon (for orders placed on a Friday)*
Same day delivery is available with products being dispatched within 60 minutes of order.
Out of hours delivery is available with products being dispatched within 90 minutes of order.
*Orders placed on a Friday for Saturday delivery are sent by Royal Mail with no tracking available by Pet Blood Bank.
Please note: overnight timed delivery is unavailable for Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Northern Ireland, and Channel Islands. For these areas, only a standard overnight service is available - i.e. delivery before 5pm. Urgent orders for these areas must be received and processed by 12pm. Republic of Ireland deliveries are by Parcelforce on a 2-4 day service and therefore consumable products only.
Blood products advice and best practice
Pet Blood Bank offers comprehensive advice on blood products and their administration. Most of this information is available on our website, but we are also able to give advice in individual cases if needed. We aim to respond to requests for advice within four hours during normal office hours and as soon as possible out of hours.
On delivery, all blood products are supplied with a data sheet and should be stored as per the instructions on this. Fridge and freezer temperatures must be recorded daily to ensure that the product is stored within the correct temperature range. Advice, data sheets, and temperature monitoring records can be found on the Pet Blood Bank website.
In order to track and investigate any adverse reactions to a blood product, Pet Blood Bank advises customers to keep a record of the unit ID (indicated on the product label) for all blood products administered to a recipient. For information on how to monitor and record blood transfusions and to report any transfusion reactions, please visit www.petbloodbankuk.org/monitoringandreactions. All transfusion reactions must be reported to Pet Blood Bank.
It is recommended that recipients of blood products have a cross match collar tag attached to their collar. Customers are asked to explain the importance of wearing this and give the Pet Blood Bank cross match card to the owner. The tag and card are supplied by Pet Blood Bank with all blood product orders.
Payment terms
Invoices will be emailed to the account holder on dispatch of product. It is the responsibility of the account holder to keep Pet Blood Bank informed of the correct and up to date email address for invoices. All invoices must be paid within 30 days of the date of the invoice. Failure to pay invoices within the payment terms may result in future orders being denied until such time as the account is settled.
Faulty or damaged goods
All orders must be checked for damage and Pet Blood Bank notified within 24 hours of delivery of any concerns about the product. Pet Blood Bank will arrange with the customer to have the damaged goods returned (if required) so that any faults/damage can be investigated. If the product is found to be faulty or damaged in transit, a full refund or replacement will be issued. The decision on whether to refund or replace product is at the sole discretion of Pet Blood Bank.
For more information on returns and to download our product issue form, please visit www.petbloodbankuk.org/returns. Products must only be returned to Pet Blood Bank after discussion with a member of our team.
Returns policy: blood products
Blood products that have been ordered and dispatched from Pet Blood Bank are non-returnable, unless they are damaged or faulty on arrival.
If a blood product has been dispatched using the same day courier service and during the transit period the customer informs the Pet Blood Bank that the product is no longer required, it is at the discretion of the charity to allow the product to be returned and the customer's account refunded. Where the charity agrees to the return of blood product in transit, this will not set a precedent for any future returns.
All packaging and courier fees relating to the above delivery/return will be levied and payment is expected under the standard payment terms.
Returns policy: non-blood products
All non-blood products ordered in error may be returned within 7 days of receipt, subject to the items being unopened, in their original packaging, and in a saleable condition. Customers must contact Pet Blood Bank to arrange this prior to returning the goods.
On receipt of the returned goods, the customer's account will be credited with the value of the goods. Any returned product not in its original sealed packaging will not be accepted, and no refund will be made.
All postage and packaging costs are non-refundable, and any costs associated with returning products will be the responsibility of the customer.
Pricing structure and recharging request
Pet Blood Bank UK is a charitable organisation and therefore operates on a not-for-profit basis. The charity relies on the goodwill of dog owners allowing their dogs to donate blood.
The charity invoices blood products to veterinary practices at cost price. This is the cost of running the service including the collection, processing, storage and supply of blood products. No charge is made for the blood product.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons states that it is reasonable for the charity to expect support from veterinary surgeons not to mark up or profit from blood products donated to the charity.
Pet Blood Bank requires a formal commitment from veterinary practices, who are customers of the charity, to support the central ethos of the charity i.e. to provide blood product at no charge when they recharge their clients for the transfusion. Pet Blood Bank recognises that fees for diagnostic and clinical services while treating patients undergoing transfusions will vary from practice to practice and patient to patient and will be charged to the client appropriately.
If it comes to the attention of the charity that a veterinary practice is failing to honour this commitment, it will immediately cease to supply the practice with its products.
