As has been the situation in the UK to date, PBBuk will rely on blood donations from donor dogs, but the advantage is that our donors will be part of pre-planned blood drives.  Donors will be volunteers from the local community and as animal welfare is our top priority each donor will be bled no more than 3 - 4 times per annum.  We aim to have around 12 – 15 donors attend each blood drive.  During an average session around 450mls of blood are taken and the actual donation time for each dog is around 5 – 10 minutes although we advise owners that they should expect to be with us for 30 – 40 minutes in total to allow for their health check and screening.  And after giving their donation our donors are given a PBBuk goody bag, a drink and biscuit (the equivalent of tea and a biscuit for us humans!) and a well deserved tummy tickle.

There are specific guidelines which highlight the requirements of a dog in order to become a donor they are as follows:

• donors should have a good temperament
• be aged between one and eight years old
• weigh more than 25 kilos
• should not have travelled abroad
• must be up-to-date with vaccinations
• and be in general good health

Additionally if our donors are not already microchipped we will also chip them free of charge to ensure traceability of our donors.