Charity Pet Blood Bank UK has this month announced local vet practice Westway Veterinary Group as one of the winners in its Heart of Pet Blood Bank Award 2020-2021. Westway Veterinary Group was recognised with the Host Venue Award for its outstanding support of the charity during the pandemic year.
The Heart of Pet Blood Bank Awards seek to recognise inspiring people and dogs who go
the extra mile to support the charity. The Host Venue Award celebrates the vet practices
who provide Pet Blood Bank with space and facilities to run their donation sessions, but who also go above and beyond to support the charity and its work.
Westway began supporting Pet Blood Bank during the height of the pandemic when the
charity’s usual host venue in Darlington became unavailable to them. Since then, they have
provided exceptional support to facilitate the running of dog blood donation sessions in many of their practice branches across the north east. The blood that has been collected at
donation sessions across branches of the Westway Group has gone on to help save the
lives of hundreds of dogs across the UK.
Westway Veterinary Group was presented with their award at a virtual awards ceremony
hosted by Pet Blood Bank on Thursday 26 May.
Mark Turnbull, Practice Manager at Westway, said, ‘When we heard Pet Blood Bank was
struggling to find host venues in our area, we were really keen to help given the excellent
and lifesaving service they provide. We have a long and close association with Pet Blood
Bank as many of our colleagues work for the organisation alongside their roles with us.
Allowing the charity to use our facilities was a very easy decision for us and we have since
further strengthened our partnership. It is an absolute honour to receive this award and we
are incredibly proud to be able to continue to offer our clinics as venues for donation
sessions.’
Nicole Osborne from Pet Blood Bank UK said, ‘The support we have received from Westway Veterinary Group has been phenomenal. They really come to our rescue during the pandemic and since then have facilitated the running of our blood donation sessions in many of their branches across the region. It is a real pleasure to work with the incredible team at Westway, we are very proud to have them as one of our host venues.’
Pet Blood Bank is the only charity offering a lifesaving blood service for all dogs across the
UK. Just like the human blood service, dog owners kindly bring their much loved
companions to give blood at one of the charity’s many donation sessions across the country.
This blood is then processed and stored, ready to be sent out to vets when they need it for a patient. The blood is truly lifesaving with every donation having the potential to help save up to four other dogs.
More dog donors are always needed to keep up with the increasing demand for blood
products. If you have a happy, healthy, and confident dog who is aged between 1 and 8 and over 25kg they could be a lifesaver. To find out more, please visit www.petbloodbankuk.org.