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Blood Donor Clinic

Image of a dog lying down during a blood donation with their owner, a vet student and a vet beside them

Why is blood needed?

While blood products are readily available in human medicine, they are slightly more scarce in animals. Animals with life-threatening anaemias due to massive bleeding from trauma (such as in a road traffic accident), surgery or bleeding disorders, or for animals with immune-mediated haemolytic anaemias (where the red blood cells are been destroyed by the body), blood transfusions are essential to improve oxygen carrying capacity and save an animals’ life. And, just like people, dogs and cats have different blood types. Giving a matched blood transfusion minimises the risk of an adverse reaction.

The UCDVH Blood Donor Clinic, run by Dr Carles Blasi Brugué, Dr Monica Augusto and Mr Michael Byrne, has proven to be a successful initiative for the UCD Veterinary Hospital and its clients. 

If you think your dog - or cat - might be a potential donor and you would like further information, please see our Blood Donor Clinic Brochure for details.

Is Your Dog or Cat a Potential Donor?

‌If you can answer ’Yes’ to the following questions then your pet could be a suitable blood donor:

  • Is your dog over 25kg or your cat over 4kg?
  • Aged between 1-8 years old?
  • Fully vaccinated, wormed, healthy and not receiving any medication?
  • Has not travelled outside Ireland or the UK?
  • Has never received a transfusion?
  • Has a good temperament?

In our blood donation programme, we start with a trial day, when we assess whether your dog or cat is relaxed during the visit to the hospital, we do a physical examination and take a blood sample for a general health screen and blood typing. If everything is perfect and you are happy to enrol your pet, we put them on our Blood Donor list. 

What happens during a blood donation at the UCDVH?

On donation day, blood is withdrawn from the donor and transferred to a collection bag (dogs) or syringes (cats) that contains an anticoagulant and nutrients for the cells. 

The blood of dogs is then separated into different components – plasma and packed red blood cells and can be stored in our blood bank to be used when needed, the blood of cats is given directly to another cat within a maximum of 24-hours.

UCD Veterinary Hospital

UCD Veterinary Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
T: +353 1 716 6000 | Location Map(opens in a new window)