Dog blood donations save lives

Every year thousands of dogs across Australia require lifesaving blood to treat a variety of diseases and trauma, yet very few owners are aware of the need for pet blood donations.

Just as human blood banks play a vital role in saving human lives, dogs and cats also rely on blood donations for their survival in times of need.

From emergency blood transfusions to assist in surgery or cancer treatment, snake bites and parvovirus cases, to treating toxicities and anaemia, or bleeding disorders such as hemophilia, the lives of up to three critically ill dogs can be saved from just one unit of blood donated.

Unfortunately there are not many animal blood banks in Australia, which means vets often rely on staff pets or a willing client to donate blood, which can put a lot of pressure on an animal to act as a repeat donor.

By increasing the blood donation donor lists at pet blood banks and also at general practice clinics, it will mean less demand on the dog blood donors.

Blood donation process and benefits

For dogs that fit the donor criteria, your dog will first get an examination before the blood donation is collected and a blood test will be run to ensure all readings are normal.

First time donors will find out their blood type too.  There are over 12 blood types in domestic dogs, however it is a particular antigen (DEA 1.1) that is important for blood donations. A dog is either DEA 1.1 NEG or DEA 1.1 POS. Positive blood can go to positive dogs, while negative dogs are universal donors.

Knowing your dog’s blood type can help in an emergency situation as it can help ensure that your dog receives the right blood type to minimise the risk of transfusion reaction.

Many Vet clinics and hospitals also provide donors with discounts on services and products in return for their blood donation.

In preparation for the blood donation, your dog’s neck will have some fur shaved off and the blood is taken from the jugular vein. The blood donation takes about 5 – 10 minutes and in that time the vet will collect between 400 – 500mLs of blood.

All up the process takes a few hours and donors are also rewarded with incentives like free food, blood donor merchandise and discounted veterinary services.

Dog blood donor criteria

• Your dog will need to be healthy
• Weighs at least 25kg
• Between 1-8 years of age
• Up-to-date with vaccinations, worming, and other preventatives
• Has not had a blood transfusion previously
• Has a calm, trusting temperament
• Be capable of lying calmly for 5-10 minutes with their owner present while the donation occurs

The Pet ICU Blood Donation program

Pet ICU is a purpose-built animal intensive care unit in the Brisbane suburb of Underwood, and runs a dedicated canine and feline blood bank program to administer life-saving transfusions from pet blood donors when required, working together with the Animal Emergency Service hospital network.

You can find out more about the Pet ICU’s Underwood blood donation program, which includes free Nexgard SPECTRA for donors, HERE.    You can also register with the Animal Emergency Service hospitals in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania HERE.

Other ways to register your dog as blood donor locally

1. Talk to a local university that teaches veterinary science (often they will have a clinic and the capacity to store blood)
2. Contact your closest 24hour or emergency veterinary clinic (these are the ones who most commonly need blood).
3. Approach your regular vet about marking you as a ring-in in their computer system.

Lara Shannon is a certified dog behaviourist and trainer, pet food nutrition specialist, Executive Producer and Host of Pooches at Play on Channel 10 and editor of Poochesatplay.com. Lara also runs her own dog training business in Melbourne’s Bayside area and is the Author of World of Dogs and Eat, Play, Love Your Dog