Blue Ridge Veterinary Blood Bank
A BRVBB donation site since 2011
Your dog could save a life!
Healthy donors are needed to give blood for the many dogs who need it. A single donation can be used to save up to 4 lives, because the blood can be separated into two components, red blood cells and plasma. The components are given to patients suffering from anemia, injury or disease.
How long will it take?
The blood collection process, an almost completely painless procedure, will take about 10-20 minutes. Your pet will not be sedated and only a small percentage of his or her blood will be donated.
How often can my pet donate?
Dogs can donate blood without any issue as often as every 3 weeks. You will only be asked to come in every 5-7 weeks. Red blood cells are replaced over 21 days and plasma in the blood is replaced in about 48 hrs.
How will this benefit my pet?
- Every pet is given a physical examination before each donation
- Each pet's blood type is determined in their initial screening.
- A free Blood Chemistry Profile, Complete Blood Count (CBC) and a Heartworm test is performed annually.
- Each pet is tested for Lyme, Ehrlichia, and anaplasmosis. Certain groups of dogs are tested for other communicable tick borne illness.
- Brucella testing (once for neutered dogs and yearly testing for intact dogs)
- For each unit of blood donated, a donor is eligible to receive free blood or plasma should illness or injury ever warrant its use.
- Each pet receives an BRVBB identification tag which identifies the dog as a blood donor, and can be traced through the BRVBB if the owner cannot otherwise be located
- Each pet receives an BRVBB bandanna identifying the donor as a life saver
- Various free pet health and nutrition giveaways
- And plenty of dog treats before and after each donation
- Featured throughout the year on our social media channels ( life saver bragging rights!)
How can my dog become a blood donor?
Contact the Blue Ridge Veterinary Blood Bank at 1-800-949-EVBB
or 540-338-7387 or visit their website.
