Canines helping canines is what this weekend鈥檚 dog blood donor drive in 91原创 is all about.

Andrea Dyck, blood services director with the , runs a donor program in which dogs and cats donate blood to help sick and injured animals 鈥� not only at the 91原创 hospital, but all over the Lower Mainland.

The 91原创 clinic has recently partnered with HugAbull Rescue Society to run a blood donor drive on Saturday, Sept. 30 and Sunday, Oct. 1 at the facility, #306 6325 204 St.

Suitable donors at the clinic will include any dog weighing more than 30 pounds, as well as dogs over that weight in the bully breed category including Staffordshires, American bulldogs, bull mastiffs, bull terriers, and boxers.

鈥淲e are booked solid this weekend, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday,鈥� Dyck said.

鈥淚t is going to be a lot of fun and I am really looking forward to it. We have between 12 to 15 potential donors coming in for screening each day, plus any who may show up unannounced.鈥�

Once a unit is collected, it is processed into its final form and then either shipped to a hospital or stored at the clinic to be used either for its own patients or to be on hand for an emergency at another clinic, Dyck explained.

鈥淏lood can be stored for five to six weeks, depending on how we process it, and plasma can be stored for up to five years when frozen,鈥� Dyck added.

troy.landreville@blackpress.ca
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