Published: 18 Nov 2024 | Last Updated: 18 Nov 2024 09:40:19

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is celebrating two decades of its pioneering Blood Donor Programme, based at its Hawkshead Campus in North Mymms, with the opening of a new Transfusion Medicine Centre. This milestone marks a commitment to expanding life-saving blood donation services for cats and dogs and has been made possible by generous donations totalling over £90,000 raised by the RVC’s charity, The Animal Care Trust (ACT).

The new Transfusion Medicine Centre, officially opened by ACT Chair Professor Christianne Glossop OBE at a special opening event, offers enhanced facilities to meet the rising demand for blood products. Equipped with separate, dedicated areas for feline and canine donors, the centre will improve the experience for both donors and owners. Additionally, it has an on-site laboratory for processing and storing blood products, ensuring availability of blood to animals in need.

Since launching in 2004, the RVC’s Blood Donor Programme is the first and only veterinary hospital in the UK with a dedicated transfusion medicine service for pets. What began with a group of just 19 canine donors has now grown to include 150 dogs and 62 cats, who donate regularly to aid thousands of animals receiving advanced care at RVC’s Small Animal Referral Hospital

Dan Chan, Professor of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at RVC, said:

"Ever since joining the RVC nearly 19 years ago, I’ve been a passionate supporter of the RVC’s Blood Donor Programme. Working in the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, I’ve seen first-hand how blood donations help pets every single day and the ground-breaking clinical treatment and expert care that is provided at the hospital. Thanks to our special donors, blood transfusions have saved thousands of lives at the RVC over the last two decades. The new Transfusion Medicine Centre is essential in allowing us to expand and enhance our current facilities to ensure even more cats and dogs can be treated. We are grateful to everyone for their contributions that have helped us to achieve this important goal.”

Professor Christianne Glossop OBE, Chair of the RVC Animal Care Trust, said:

“This wonderful new, purpose-built facility has been designed to enhance further the well-established blood donor programme at the RVC.  It is the result of vision, determination and the generosity of ACT supporters.   I have no doubt it will have a real impact on the treatment, care and clinical outcomes for many of our patients, and is a clear demonstration of what can be achieved when we work together.”

Alongside providing life-saving transfusions, the RVC has advanced transfusion medicine for pets through research into donor welfare and the use of canine blood to help cats in emergencies. In 2023 alone, the RVC’s Blood Donor Programme facilitated 711 transfusions, each one making a critical difference to pets in need.

To learn more about the RVC Blood Donor Programme or how to support this vital service, visit www.rvc.ac.uk/act 

For media enquiries, please contact:

• Jasmin De Vivo at jasmin.devivo@plmr.co.uk or rvc@plmr.co.uk
• Press Line: 0800 368 9520

About the RVC

• The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London.
• It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with reciprocal recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and the AVMA in the USA and Canada.
• The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2023.
• The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.
• The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
• The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.

About The Animal Care Trust

• The RVC Animal Care Trust (ACT) is the RVC’s registered charity and has been raising funds for the RVC’s hospitals, research and students since 1980.