Animal Blood Transfusion Voluntary Campaigns
Interest in transfusions in veterinary medicine has been growing in recent decades, hence the creation of blood banks for pets in many countries around the world. This has also led to the increasing development of the immediate remission capability of blood units to treat critically ill animals.
As all blood must come from healthy individuals, the need to find new donors is always pressing. That’s why it’s so important to educate homeowners and let them know what options are out there to help.
Transfusions in veterinary medicine throughout history
The use of blood transfusions in animals isn’t exactly new. It is a practice that has been going on for a long time and in fact can be considered the origin of transfusions in human medicine.
Initially, blood for transfusion was taken directly from the donor using an anticoagulant. This blood was fully administered to the recipient a few hours after donation.
However, given the increase in demand and limited supply, today we are looking for a better use of the resource. This is why there is a tendency to administer only the necessary blood components. For example, red blood cell and plasma concentrates.
Selection of donor animals
As in humans, not all animals are valid candidates for blood donors. Here are some of the considerations to consider before including your pet in this activity.
Transfusions in veterinary medicine: donor dogs
Canine donors must meet certain characteristics, such as the following:
- Be healthy.
- Weigh at least 25 kilos so that blood can be stored in standard human collection bags.
- Many blood donation programs set an age limit between one and eight years.
- Have the vaccinations corresponding to your age up to date, according to the vaccination schedule and the country where you are located.
- Must not be under medical treatment at the time of donation, with the exception of preventive drugs against parasites.
Choosing dogs that remain stationary and alone during the extraction procedure is preferable. But, if necessary, light sedation can be used, although this can have adverse consequences.
pre-selection tests
It will be necessary:
- Determine blood type. The trend is to use the DEA identification “ dog erythrocyte antigen ”.
- Perform general hematology and biochemistry to check your health.
Some infectious agents have the potential to be transmitted by blood transfusion. They are agents of serious infections, such as leishmaniasis or brucellosis. Therefore, it is essential to guarantee the absence of these microorganisms in potential donors.
Transfusions in veterinary medicine: donor cats
The requirements required are similar to those of dogs, with differences inherent to the species. For example, the weight in that case must be more than four kilos.
In addition to the importance of the blood group, the possibility of a subclinical infection is again highlighted. For this reason, tests will be performed to rule out feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency, among others.
The most powerful veterinary centers may consider housing a colony of disease-free donor cats. They are cats that, after this period, must be properly relocated as pets.
Voluntary pet donation campaigns. Did you think they were just for humans?
Experts say there is a general lack of awareness regarding pet blood donation. Is it that or an absolute lack of information, which could also be a reason, although it seems difficult in the age of technologies, isn’t it?
Voluntary donation plans are based on the altruism of the pet owner. While it is true that the donation is usually rewarded with bags of feed, jewelry or toys for the donor animal.
Therefore, it is important to familiarize the public with pet blood donation, as you never know when our faithful companion might be in a position to need the help of another animal.
