Client Perspective: Blood Donation - Behind a Service often Taken for Granted

Ever wondered where canine and feline blood transfusions come from? Black Labrador ‘Cricket’ Minogue may go some way to explaining the process of small animal blood transfusion happening every day across Australia.

We’ve all seen any number of medical emergency shows with any number of trauma scenarios. Most follow predictable basic lines, where a patient, let’s call him Frank, has just been involved in a car accident or something such. Frank is rushed through casualty for immediate treatment. Doctors and nurses begin stablisation and clinical assessment. Initial diagnostic tests confirm that Frank has been losing significant blood and will need a transfusion. A unit of blood is ordered up and magically appears. Treatment progresses and after some fretful hours Frank’s condition stabilises and the crisis is over.

For the record it just so happens that Frank is a Golden Retriever, and the blood has obviously not arrived from the Red Cross Blood Bank. You may at this point comment that ‘that’s not how it happens with animals’. If this is the thought that springs to mind, you’d actually be wrong...

You most likely have never considered where canine and feline blood products come from, nor how they can play a critical part in life-saving treatment of your pet.

As with many aspects of treatment, preparation and readiness are strong contributors to a good outcome. Anticipation of the likely complications of a large range of conditions is a fundamental aspect of any emergency situation, and potential blood transfusion is just one part of the picture.

Just as with humans, canine blood products are manufactured from donations from healthy donors. From these products the plasma is separated from the red blood cells and stored in a frozen form, while the red blood cells are refrigerated. In Australia there is actually only one source of accredited red blood cells, being the uVet Blood Bank in Werribee Victoria, while the same organisation also provides frozen canine plasma products, along with a Queensland company PlasVacc.

Along with stored products, many veterinary centres also have a number of donors on hand to provide fresh blood donations. All donors must be in good health, fall within certain weight and age ranges, and can only donate once every six weeks at most.

‘Cricket’ Minogue is one such donor who regularly provides life saving donations for critically ill or injured canine patients. Many clients express concern about the donation process, but for any person who has ever given blood, they will know that the process is relatively quick and very simple.

Most canine donors are given a light anaesthetic before donating. Only about 5%-10% of their entire blood volume is donated at any given time, and this is quickly replaced by the body’s natural mechanisms for blood manufacture. Blood is taken from one of the jugular veins and takes anywhere from five to fifteen minutes to collect. After donation, donors have the equivalent fluid volume replaced with a dilute sodium chloride solution designed for intravenous use in animals. This helps to prevent any drop in blood pressure and associated side-effects. After the anaesthesic has worn off, donors are often happily trotting around within half an hour of giving blood and return home to lead a completely normal and carefree life until their next visit.

The process is much the same for feline donors and recipients, who regrettably cannot depend on a blood bank for on hand stores. Currently there is no feline blood bank in Australia, meaning that every donation must be kept in a healthy cat until such time as it is needed. Added to this, blood typing in cats must take place to ensure that a donor and recipient are correctly matched for every donation. Next time you visit your vet, the cat traipsing around the waiting room is most likely the generous provider of several donations per year.

If you would like more information on blood donations, please contact the Southern Animal Referral Centre on (03) 9532 5261.

Back