Harvard Bioscience (HBIO) S-8 Registration of securities for employees

Exhibit 23.1

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors and Shareholders

Harvard Bioscience, Inc.:

We consent to the use of our report dated March 16, 2011, with respect to the consolidated balance sheets of Harvard Bioscience, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and comprehensive income (loss), and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2010, and our report dated March 16, 2011 with respect to the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, which reports appear in the December 31, 2010 annual report on Form 10-K of Harvard Bioscience, Inc., incorporated by reference herein.

/s/ KPMG

Boston, Massachusetts

May 25, 2011