Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Canine blood donor programs - how safe are they?
By DeLuca, Lawrence A et al.·Published in Journal of applied animal welfare science : JAAWS·2006·Sun States Animal Blood Bank, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Description and evaluation of a canine volunteer blood donor program.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A community-based blood donor program for dogs was evaluated to see how safe and effective it was. Out of 98 dogs screened, 84 were eligible to donate blood, and 29 of those donated multiple times. While there were some minor reactions like bruising and skin irritation, there were no serious issues reported. This suggests that the program was well-received by both the dogs and their owners, making it a promising option for providing blood for pets in need.
People also search for: dog blood donation program · is it safe for my dog to donate blood · canine blood donor eligibility
Abstract
Human volunteer blood donor programs are commonplace, but the concept of nonhuman animal blood banking is relatively new. Few studies exist regarding efficacy, donor screening, and safety for volunteer companion animals. This retrospective study evaluated a nonprofit, community-based canine volunteer donor program using community blood drives. Of 98 potential donors, 14 were ineligible to donate, including 4 who tested seropositive for blood-borne pathogens. Of 84 donors, 45 were Dog Erythrocyte Antigen (DEA) 1.1 positive and 39 were DEA1.1 negative. Donations totaling 143 included 29 repeat donors (35%). No serious adverse events occurred. Minor adverse events included acute donor reaction (2.8%), hematoma (4.2%), rebleeding (2.1%), and skin irritation (0.7%). Adverse event rates were comparable to data for human blood donations. A substantial fraction of donors donated multiple times, suggesting that volunteer donors and their guardians perceived the donation process to be safe and effective. This article discusses the issue of donor consent and use of the term volunteer. This study indicates that nonprofit, community-based canine volunteer donor programs for animal blood banks can be successful while maintaining high safety standards and ethical treatment of volunteers.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16956317/