All About Blood Banks For Dogs And Cats

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All About Blood Banks For Dogs And Cats

Friday, October 24th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

With the growing demand for more surgery and the increased use of transfusion therapy to treat different kinds of diseases, there is indeed a great need for blood bank programs to supply life-saving blood components whenever and wherever they are needed. Before there were animal blood banks, Veterinarians had to use their own dogs, dogs owned by their staff, or even dogs borrowed from their clients as blood donors.

Just as human blood banks depend on human blood donors, animal blood banks must depend solely on animal blood donors. Blood is species specific - dogs can receive only dog blood and cats can only receive cat blood. In addition, dogs have blood types just as humans have blood types. Dogs have eleven different blood groups and the most important one is the A1/A2 system. Dogs that have A negative blood types are considered universal donors.

It is recommended that all recipients be cross matched before receiving a blood transfusion to ensure donor and recipient compatibility despite the fact that canines rarely have isoantibodies against other blood types.

The major and minor cross matching is the two types of cross-matching tests. If major cross matching is done, red cells from the donor are mixed with serum from the recipient, then it is observed to see if there is a reaction. The recipient cells may attack donor cells and reject them. In the event that there is a major cross-match incompatibility, transfusion shouldn’t be done. For a minor cross-match test, the red cells of the recipient are compared with the serum of the donor. If there is a minor cross-match incompatibility, only parts of the donor’s blood can be given to the recipient.

A healthy animal with no history of metabolic or heart disease or seizures, has lean body weight (greater than 50 kg), and is 1-7 years of age is a potential donor. In addition, they should not be on any medication (except heartworm and parasite meds), have a good temperament, have been neutered and nulliparous, have jugular veins that are easily visualized and palpated and should have constant vaccinations. The Greyhounds are ideal blood donors due to their amenable disposition and high PCV.

As with human donors, screening is done to the animal donor’s blood for metabolic and infectious diseases after blood type determination. The following labs are done: CBC, biochemical profile, U/A, fecal exam, von Willebrand’s factor, and testing for Dirofilaria immiti, Ehrlichia canis, Babesia canis, B. gibsoni, Brucella canis (in intact or previously bred dogs), and Bartonella.

Blood donation takes more or less 30 minutes. Prior to going to the donation center, special preparations like fasting is not required, sedation of donors is not also necessary. During the blood donation, the donor is put on a table. In order to expose the skin over the vein to be punctured, there is a need to shave a small patch of hair on the neck. Then the area is cleansed with alcohol. Inserting a needle into the jugular vein, which is a large vein in the neck, collects blood. The blood that goes into the needle goes through a tube, and then it is collected into the collection bag. After the procedure, pressure is applied on the punctured site to stop any bleeding; a mild bruise may be present at the site.

Water and food are offered to replace nutrients. The dog’s system starts to replace the blood immediately after the donation. Blood volume will then be back to normal in a day and the red blood cell count in 2 to 3 weeks. Strenuous activity should be discouraged for the next 24 hours after donating, just as it is with human blood donors. Also similar to human donors, there must be a waiting period of at least two months before blood can be collected again.

The dogs are given gifts and treats after donating. A dog may get a tag, which identifies him or her as a blood donor, edible rewards such as dog biscuits, a jar of baby food, a can or a large bag of dog food and some donors may even get brand new toys or cool donor bandanas.

The blood donations will then be separated into the different blood components - red blood cells, platelets and plasma to be used for both emergency and pre-planned transfusions. The red blood cells are given to recipients suffering from anemia that may be due to trauma or a treatable disease. When the animal is not producing the right amount or is losing too much protein, plasma helps increase blood volume. Platelet-rich plasma is for those recipients with decreased or dysfunctional platelets.

There are now several world animal blood banks that supply blood products to Veterinary hospitals. Most have been opened for business within the past decade. Dog owners have responded with enthusiasm to the plea for blood donations and every year, the blood bank processes roughly 2,000 units of blood donated by dogs brought in to the bank at the Veterinary hospital and to the bank’s bloodmobile, which visits Veterinary clinics and kennel clubs.

Other regional blood banks depend entirely on the generosity of caring people who enroll their dogs in canine blood donor programs and take them to scheduled appointments to donate. Canine blood banks hold drives to find new volunteer donors, just like the Red Cross and other health organizations do to encourage human blood donations.

If you would you like your pet to be a life-saver of other pets, and that they fit the requirements to be a volunteer donor, check out the where regional blood banks for dogs and cats or the list of Veterinary Hospitals and University Veterinary Medical Centers are located and contact the one nearest you. You can also inquire about animal blood donor programs during your next visit to the veterinarian.