Pet Blood Bank UK launches £18,000 appeal for new van
Loughborough-based charity provides blood for vets across UK
LOUGHBOROUGH based charity Pet Blood Bank UK is appealing to the public for help in raising £18,000 to cover the costs of a new van for their team.
Launched in 2007, Pet Blood Bank UK, based at The Loughborough Technology Centre in Epinal Way, is the only charity that provides a blood bank service for all vets across the UK.
Similar to the human blood service, pet owners kindly bring along their much loved companions to give blood at one of the charity’s sessions across the country.
The blood is then taken to its processing centre in Loughborough where it is separated into red blood cells and plasma products, and then stored ready for dispatch.
Every unit of blood helps save up to four other lives, saving thousands of lives every year.
Every year, the Pet Blood Bank team travels thousands of miles across the country to run donation sessions and collect lifesaving blood for dogs.
They have had a car for many years, but this is starting to fail and urgently needs replaced. Having a reliable vehicle is crucial for the charity. They need to know their team can get to the donation venue to run the session and bring all the lifesaving blood back to the blood bank in Loughborough afterwards.
A spokesman for the charity said: “As a small charity and like many other businesses, Pet Blood Bank is facing significant challenges due to the current situation, which is why we are appealing to the public to help with this large bill. £18,000 will cover the cost of a second-hand van as a new team vehicle.
“The van will be used by the collection team as they visit different vet practices to run blood donation sessions for dogs. Every unit of blood collected can help to save up to four other dogs. Donation sessions run very similarly to the human blood service, with added cuddles and attention for the dogs.
“After each session, the blood is processed and stored, ready to be sent out to vet when they need it for an unwell dog.”
• To support Pet Blood Bank and make a donation or start fundraising towards the cost of their new van, please visit www.petbloodbankuk.org/vanappeal