Did you know that human beings are not the only ones who can donate blood? While humans need blood for surgeries and traumas, dogs need blood for the same reasons.
On Saturday, June 18th, South Bend Medical Foundation will partner with Morris Animal Hospital to host a blood drive with the theme of “Helping Pets, Helping People,” from 10:30am until 3:00pm.
According to Dr. Amanda Cunningham, their hospital has collected a unit each month for several years which they keep on hand for traumas or routine surgeries. Dogs also might need blood if they have autoimmune diseases or if they digest rat poisoning which will cause bleeding.
The process for dogs to give blood is very similar to that of human donations. First, the dog is screened to be sure that they are a healthy donor. This is done through testing which includes a complete blood count (CBC), a urinalysis, and the animal must be on heartworm, flea and tick prevention medication. In addition, the dog will be tested for dog erythrocyte antigens (DEA). If the dog is 1.1 negative or positive, the animal is able to be a donor. Also, the donor must be at least 50 pounds, age 6 or younger and in good general health.
Just as our canine friends have minimum requirements they must meet to be eligible donors, humans have them as well. For example, while dogs must be a minimum 50lbs, humans must be a minimum of 110lbs. Also, human donors need to be screened to determine which of the eight blood types they are, dogs have up to 12 types of blood.
In a human donation, the donor gives a unit of blood which is 500mL of whole blood using a vein in the arm. Dogs give 450mL out of the jugular vein and medication is sometimes used to relax the four legged friend. And finally, while human blood has a shelf life of 42 days, canine blood is good for about 25 days.
Although the Morris Animal Hospital has enough doggie donors signed up to give blood on Saturday, you can contact your local veterinary if you are interested in having your dog screened to be an eligible donor. If you are interested in seeing the process of how dogs donate blood or would like to donate blood yourself at the Morris Animal Hospital on Saturday, contact 271-1909 or sign up online at http://bit.ly/MorrisBloodDrive
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