Cats and Dogs Donate Blood
posted by Jake Richardson Aug 1, 2011 2:07 pm
http://www.care2.com/
Maybe you already knew this, and it stands to reason it is a normal practice, but I didn’t know how important animal blood donations are until recently.
Every day cats and dogs need blood transfusions for medical procedures. A two-year old English mastiff donated blood twenty times in Illinois. Some of its blood was used in an emergency situation to save the life of a dog that had eaten rat poison. Dogs sometimes eat rat bait that contains warfarin, an anticoagulant causing huge loss of blood. The mastiff was donating about once a month.
In Scotland some police dogs are used to donate blood for dogs that will need it in a serious medical situation, “Unless you have or work with dogs you do not think about them needing blood transfusions and take for granted, sometimes like humans, that blood will be available.†(Source: BBC)
According to one source, dog blood can be preserved for about 35 days. Dog plasma can be frozen and stored successfully for about five years.
Canine blood donor basic requirements may vary, but at the University of Pennsylvania for example, they are:
55 pounds or more, but not greater than 150 pounds
older than one year
calm temperament
not on medication
never diagnosed with certain disease like heartworm
or heart murmur
At the Angell Animal Medical Center-Boston cat donor requirements are:
weigh at least nine pounds
over one year old and less than nine
on all vaccines
no major medical issues
not on any medications
A cat recently was recognized as a hero for donating blood regularly. A vet technician said each donation can save four lives.
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