Our donor criteria

For your dog to be a blood donor, they must meet certain criteria. Your dog’s welfare is always our priority and so for them to become a lifesaver, they must be:

  • Fit and healthy
  • Between one and eight years old
  • Weigh more than 25kg
  • Have a good temperament
  • Have never travelled outside of the UK and Ireland
  • Vaccinated or have an annual titre test after the first year booster* 
  • Not on any medication

*Due to covid, we have relaxed our vaccination criteria and dogs who are behind on their vaccinations will still be eligible to donate. 

What type of dog makes a good donor?

In addition to meeting our donor criteria, we are looking for dogs who are confident and happy being handled. They should enjoy meeting new people and be comfortable going to the vets. Your dog needs to be willing and happy to take part in the donation process and show us this through their behaviour. We want your dog to love coming to see us, to enjoy being a donor, and be enthusiastic about the process. This is why confident dogs who like meeting new people and getting attention make excellent donors.

Dogs that are energetic and full of beans are very welcome. As long as they have a reasonable level of obedience and are confident, they usually go on to become great donors. Dogs like this often surprise their owners by being able to lie still for the donation.

If your dog is anxious or nervous, wary of new people, or fearful at the vets, we would encourage you to support us in other ways. Dogs like this may find the donation process stressful. The welfare of your dog always comes first.

If your dog meets the above criteria, we would love to hear from you. Please complete our registration form and we will be in touch soon.

Do dogs have blood types?

Just like humans, dogs have different blood types. The two groups we test for are DEA 1 positive and DEA 1 negative. Our service is managed very carefully by blood type and we particularly need dogs that are more likely to have negative blood type to register with us. This is because this blood type can be given to all dogs in an emergency. Find out about blood types in dogs and what breeds are more likely to have negative blood type.

How else can I get involved?

If your dog does not meet our donor criteria, there are still lots of ways that you can get involved in helping us.

Register your dog

Register your dog to join our lifesaving community

Dog blood types

Learn about the different blood types in dogs

Get involved

From fundraising to volunteering, there are plenty of ways you can help us