Blood Donor Programme
What is the Blood Donor Programme?
Blood transfusions are an important part of the treatment of many of the critically ill patients, like CJ that we see at the Royal Veterinary College each year. Over the last 10 years, many animals’ lives have been saved thanks to the transfusions they have received. As the hospitals become busier, we are performing an increasing number of transfusions each year.
Advances in treatment, increased patient numbers and the increasing complexity of cases seen by the Emergency and Critical Care Service requires that we always have blood products in stock.
To improve the supply of blood and blood products for transfusion we run a volunteer Blood Donor Programme for dogs. This is run very much like the volunteer human scheme organised by the National Blood Service. Our blood donor team consists of both specialist veterinary surgeons and dedicated nurses who get to know the owners and our donor dogs very well.
We rely on healthy dogs to donate the blood needed for vital transfusions. These donor dogs have helped save many lives and for the donors it is a simple and stress free procedure. To continue to help our patients we need an increasing number of dogs willing to donate. The blood donated by one dog can be split into several components and help more than one patient.
Blood is collected from dogs at the owners convenience at the QMHA and the blood processed after donation to produce packed red blood cells and plasma.
Can my dog give blood?
We are always looking for additional donors. Both for the safety of the donor and the blood products, there are a number of requirements that potential donors must meet, just like human blood donors. Canine donors should:
- Be between 1 and 7 years of age
- Weigh more than 25 kg
- Have not received a blood transfusion before
- Be generally healthy not on any medications
- Have yearly vaccinations and regular worming and flea treatment
- Be relaxed and easy to handle
- Have not travelled outside the UK
If you are interested in your dog becoming a regular donor please contact us - blooddonor@rvc.ac.uk. If your dog is not selected, please do not worry, it does not mean there is anything wrong, just that he/she does not fit our strict criteria. We are always pleased to hear from potential donors.
All our donors receive a certificate of donation and a dog tag.
Can my cat give blood?
Cat blood is often needed but because of technical reasons a similar storage programme is not yet in operation. Instead when there is anticipation that cat blood may be needed, cat donors remain on stand-by and only donate when the blood is actually needed.
Free health screening
As with the human blood donation scheme there is a health screening prior to donation. Before each donation, your dog will get a full health check performed by one of our veterinary surgeons and, once a year, a full blood panel will be performed free of charge.
What happens at a donor session?
You and your pet will be invited to a designated donation room where the donation equipment is set up and there are plenty of dog treats available!
A small amount of fur (about 5cm by 5cm) is clipped from the underside of the neck. This is so the team can clearly see the jugular vein and also so the skin can be thoroughly cleaned. A local anaesthetic cream is applied to the neck to minimise the sensation of the donation for your dog. After your dog has their clinical examination by a veterinary surgeon, the donation can begin. Some dogs prefer to sit, others to lie, as the needle is introduced into the vein and the blood is collected.
After the needle is withdrawn a dressing will be held on the neck, applying pressure for a few minutes to reduce the risk of any possible bruising.
Your pet will be offered a meal to eat, and a bag of premium dog food to take home in appreciation of your generous donation.
This donation session may take between 40 minutes and 1 hour.
CJ’s story
CJ, a nine-and-a-half year old male Golden Retriever, came to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals in August 2010 with anaemia and weakness.
The cause of CJ’s anaemia was not clear as blood results did not show the classic signs of any one condition so causes of blood loss needed to be explored. As causes were eliminated, a disease called Immune Mediated Haemolytic Anaemia (IMHA) which destroys the body’s own red blood cells, was decided to be the most likely cause of CJ’s condition.
As a result, CJ needed a total of three blood transfusions during his stay with us to give him more red blood cells. These transfusions came from three of our regular donors; Boris, Annie and Badger. Without these transfusions CJ would not have survived his condition and we are thankful to all our donors who allow us to save the lives of our patients. These three transfusions, along with the medication stabilised CJ’s disease and he went home after 12 days in hospital.
CJ is having checkups at his own veterinary practice to keep an eye on his red blood cell count, but so far, CJ is enjoying life at home again thanks to the donations of Boris, Annie and Badger
How is the blood used?
The whole blood is processed to give us plasma and red blood cells. The red blood cells are used to manage dogs that are bleeding or have anaemia due to other cases such as immune mediated haemolytic anaemia. Plasma can be used in certain cases of bleeding where there is a problem with the patient clotting their blood, for example anticoagulant rat baits.
The treatments can be lifesaving in many cases and it would not be possible to treat these patients without this resource.