The give-blood hounds

A British vet has come up with a revolutionary new lifesaver - an online blood donor register for badly injured dogs that need emergency transfusions.

More than 500 donor dogs have already been signed up in the ten days since the system - believed to be the first in the world - was launched.

And already one owner has praised the vet, Dr Clive Elwood, for his "bloody good idea".

Dr Elwood was spurred into action after he and his colleagues faced problems matching blood types of dogs for urgent transfusions.

Under the new service, called DogBloodDonors, owners register their pet's breed, weight and age, and vets add clinical information such as blood type. But only qualified vets can access details, and approach dog owners, when blood is needed for an animal in their area.

Dr Elwood, of Davies Veterinary Specialists, in Higham Gobion, Bedfordshire, said: "Finding blood donors can be difficult and frustrating, which means many dogs are not able to receive transfusions.

"Every year many dogs suffer from conditions requiring blood transfusions. In some cases this is the result of a medical condition, but it can be the result of a car accident, or something equally sudden.

"We don't have precise numbers, but the more owners realise that treatments such as transfusions are available for their dogs, the more they ask for these procedures.

Blood transfusion

"The trouble is that finding a matching donor is not always easy. By making it quick and easy for vets to locate a donor we hope to save the lives of hundreds of sick animals."

Dogs have two main blood types, DEA1.1 positive and DEA1.1 negative. Within the second group there are a number of sub-classifications.

Alfie, an eight-year-old golden labrador, is a classic example of an animal that would have found the donor service invaluable.

He had a three-unit blood transfusion on the day before the online service was launched to boost his red blood cell count before having a tumour in his chest removed. He is still being monitored at Dr Elwood's practice, but the outlook is good.

Alfie's owner, George Clowes, of North Oakley in Hampshire, said: "The service was literally launched as Alfie was about to have his transfusion. I think it's quite amazing and will save the lives of many animals.

"I was lucky because many of my friends have labradors that are siblings or cousins of Alfie's. I was able to round up three dogs and take them in to give blood - to be used in Alfie's transfusion."