After struggling to find donors for their dog, they started S’pore’s 1st canine blood bank

Dog parents may know that August 26 was International Dog Day. But aside from that, it was also the launch date of Bark Bank, Singapore’s first nationwide digital non-profit canine blood registry.

However, even though the non-profit platform officially launched on that date, its story began long before that.

Here’s the tale of how Bark Bank came to be, and how it’s making the blood donation process smoother for both dog owners and veterinary clinics in Singapore.

Meet the pawrents

The inspiration for Bark Bank came when co-founders Genevieve and Hsien Jin experienced firsthand the challenges of finding a blood donor for their own dog, Bruno.

Faced with an emergency, they realised that the process for sourcing canine blood was disjointed, stressful, and often unreliable.

Many dog owners, in a moment of desperation, would turn to social media, posting urgent calls for blood donors.

However, many dog owners are unaware that there are strict criteria that dogs must meet to be eligible donors. Without proper education, some well-meaning owners may offer their dogs for donation, not realising they might not be suitable, leading to delays in the donation process.

On top of that, there were privacy concerns with this makeshift solution, as personal data and contact details were often posted on public platforms, exposing dog owners to risks.

Genevieve and Hsien Jin also noticed that some vet clinics had their own small, siloed donor registries that were often fragmented and limited.

Without a centralised platform, potential donors were hard to find, and the responsibility of managing these registries often fell on individual clinics, creating an inconsistent experience.

Thus, Bark Bank was born out of the need to address these challenges and bring a more organised, secure, and accessible solution to canine blood donations.

“The platform aims to centralise the donation process, streamline eligibility screenings, and connect donors with dogs in need through registered veterinary clinics—reducing the chaos and stress that currently surrounds canine blood donations in Singapore,” the co-founders explained.

Neither Genevieve nor Hsien Jin boast any experience in the veterinary or animal welfare space, but empowered by their passions, they leveraged their respective expertise to create Bark Bank.

Genevieve, who works in the digital ad tech space, brings over 10 years of experience in marketing and advertising to the team. Meanwhile, Hsien Jin is a software engineer in the government sector and has used his software development skills to build Pawtal, the digital platform that powers Bark Bank.

Although neither founder have veterinary backgrounds, they work closely with veterinary professionals to ensure that all processes are medically sound and aligned with industry best practices.

“We are fortunate to have a vet advisory on our team, and Bark Bank was built in consultation with a group of veterinary experts,” they clarified. “In addition, we have conducted research with dog owners, including those whose pets have donated or required blood, as well as with animal welfare groups.”

Enter the pawtal

How Bark Bank works is fairly simple. It’s powered by its own digital platform, Pawtal, where dog owners can register their pets as potential blood donors.

While creating an account on Pawtal, dog owners will be asked to provide important health information. Once registered, the platform screens dogs for eligibility based on health criteria.

To elaborate, dogs must meet several criteria to become donors, including being between the ages of 1 to 8, weighing more than 25kg, and being in good health. These basic donor requirements are outlined on Bark Bank’s website to ensure transparency and clarity for dog owners.

If the dog is eligible, the owner can select a preferred vet clinic from Bark Bank’s partner list, and the clinic will handle the rest of the donation process.

Veterinary clinics will also need to sign up to partner with Bark Bank. Once onboard, clinics are notified when a donor dog selects them. From there, clinics then arrange appointments for health checks, blood tests, and the donation itself.

Vets can then update the donor’s records in Pawtal, ensuring the system stays current and transparent.

For those wondering if Bark Bank comes with an app, though, the answer is no.

The team decided against building a mobile app, believing that during stressful times when dog owners are urgently seeking blood, downloading an app wouldn’t be their priority.

Similarly, for vets, introducing an entirely new platform—and expecting them to download an app—could involve significant corporate hurdles.

Basic Profile Management is already live on the online Pawtal, enabling dog owners to create and manage their pet’s profiles, while veterinarians can update basic donation medical reports.

Onto the future

Since launching in late August, Bark Bank has been building a small but growing base of eligible donor dogs. The team is now looking for their first veterinary partner to expand their impact.

As a new initiative, the team is still in the early stages of building their metrics. So far, they’re looking at indicators such as the number of registered donor dogs and partner vet clinics as markers of growth and impact. Of course, they’ll also be paying attention to the successful facilitation of blood donations.

For now, Bark Bank’s immediate ambition is to register at least 100 eligible donor dogs while continuing to build its network of veterinary clinics.

In the long term, they aim to develop a donor-recipient matching system to ensure dogs in need receive compatible blood transfusions quickly.

“Both enhanced Profile Management features and the Donor Matching System are in our development pipeline, with plans to launch by 2025,” they said.

A continual hurdle they expect to face, though, is awareness.

“Canine blood donation is not widely discussed in the pet community, and many dog owners are unaware of the need,” the co-founders pointed out. “We also face logistical challenges in connecting donors with vets, as it requires coordination and trust.”

So, rather than jumping ahead with expansion plans, the team is focused on building up the foundational basics of their system.

“For now, we are single-minded in our focus, aiming to facilitate the connection between dogs in need and medical assistance as efficiently and respectfully as possible,” they said. “Any future expansion efforts will align with this goal, rather than expanding for the sake of it.”

Featured Image Credit: Bark Bank