Hello all,

I've just signed up one of my dogs to be a blood donor at the Royal vet college down the road and the nurse told me that there is normally a real shortage of donors.

Dogs have to be under the age of 8, fit and healthy, weigh more than 25kg and have a good, calm temperament. 

Thats all!!!!! so come on chaps, for the sake of a phone call or e-mail, your dogs donated blood could save anothers life!! How worthwhile is that??

Please, Please get in touch with your vet and ask if they have a donor list - there is a national dog blood donor website which is at www.dogblooddonors.com where you can stick your details in and if your local vet needs you, they can contact you.

Thanks for reading - Ali

Hi Ali, our GR Rosie who sadly died last year at the Royal vet college had a blood transfusion the first day she was there. They told us that it's really difficult to find donors, so we are hoping that our new puppy will be a donor when she is old enough. They give the dog a health check and blood screening annually I think, in return for donating blood. It's not something most owners would even give a thought unless their dog was in need of a transfusion.

Hi ,

So sorry to hear about the loss of Rosie.

I think you're absolutely right that most people don't give it a second thought - i certainly didn't - but its vital to get the message across that its lifesaver.

Kester is due to go for his first appointment in a couple of weeks and i'll pop a message on afterwards to let everyone know what happened.

Ali