Doggy Blood Donors – Your Dog Can Be a Lifesaver!

A car accident, a necessary surgery, there are many times when a trip to the hospital could mean a blood transfusion.  This blood is the same blood donated at the local blood bank or a company blood drive.  But what happens when your favorite dog needs surgery or some extra blood?

In the past, dog and cat blood for veterinary emergencies often came from animals who spent their time in cages at veterinary blood banks, hospitals, or ERs.  These animals were raised specifically to be blood donors, or else were formerly homeless dogs.  But these days, many pet owners are uncomfortable with the idea of caged animals used for their blood.

Another option is available and many dog and cat owners see it as a much more humane way to meet the needs of their local veterinary clinics.  Small animal blood banks have begun to spring up, and many veterinary clinics and hospitals will ask for doggy blood donors.

In general it is a quick and fairly easy process.  You bring your dog in to the clinic or blood bank, the dog is put on an exam table, and in ten minutes, the blood has been donated and the pup is home free.  There are some limits however, and your dog may not be large or young enough to donate.

• For most blood donation programs, a dog must be over one year old but less than eight years old.  Older dogs may have health conditions, and drawing blood may put unnecessary stress on their bodies.
• Each blood bank has their own schedule for donation.  This means you could be asked to bring your dog in to donate anywhere from every six weeks to every four months.
• Dogs must be healthy, vaccinated, and have no history of serious disease.
• Generally, dogs must also weigh more than 50 pounds so that they will have a reasonable amount of blood to donate.

While not always a must, it’s better that your dog not be very jumpy or have a lot of energy. It’s important that your dog be able to remain calm throughout the ten minutes so the needle isn’t pulled out.

Another consideration is your dog’s blood type.  There are over fourteen different blood types in dogs, but blood banks generally only accept blood from dogs who have a universal blood type – blood that can be given to any dog.  Fortunately, this can constitute nearly half of all large-breed dogs.  Greyhounds especially often have this universal blood type.

Your veterinarian or the technician performing the blood draw will tell you about caring for your dog post-donation, but it’s a fairly simple process.  Your dog will regenerate the lost blood quickly, but still shouldn’t engage in too much physical activity for the full day after the donation.

Donating blood is one of the greatest things your dog can do to help save the lives of other dogs.  Just as human blood donation is an important part of every hospital, the great advances in veterinary medicine increasingly allow for dogs to be treated for serious conditions, and this requires blood.  Someday your own dog may even be the recipient of some canine hero’s red cells.