Meet Blaze ~ Canine Blood Donor

Would you like to make a "Pit" Stop
and let your Fur child make a blood donation and save furiends too?

Why Canine Blood Donors

Just like humans need blood, so do our animals. Some reasons your or any pet may need a transfusion are:

  • Biliary (or tick bite fever)
  • Blood loss due to trauma, and
  • Severe worm burdens in puppies
  • Babesia
  • Auto immune mediated blood disease
  • Another component of blood, called plasma are used for our parvo patients, as well as rat poison cases.

In all of the above cases, blood or plasma transfusions are essential for the patients and could mean the difference between life and death.

WHERE

People can enquire at their local vet, but only animal hospitals usually do the donation process. We use Bryanston Veterinary Hospital. ~ Contact Details

Animal blood banks are becoming more common in the cities.
The blood is stored at bloodbanks around South Africa, to mention two:
Onderstepoort Veterinary Faculty in Pretoria, and
Tygerberg Animal Hospital in Cape Town.

The Criteria to become a Canine Blood Donor

  • Dog must be between 1-6 years old
  • Good temperament, not aggressive and calm
  • weight of over 25kg
  • vaccinations up to date
  • Must use tick and flea treatments monthly
  • If they have ever received a blood transfusion themselves, they can’t become a blood donor

What you can expect during the Process

A typical donation takes about 10 to 30 minutes. The dog is placed on a table, normally laying on his side, while a technician gives him lots of love and attention. A small patch of fur on the dog’s neck is shaved, and a tiny needle is used to collect the blood. Most dogs don’t feel a thing, and are just thrilled for the extra love and attention.

As soon as blood is drawn, the dog’s body begins to produce more to replace it. Donors are given plenty of water and yummy snacks immediately after donating. While some dogs may be sluggish or weak after donating, others have no reaction at all – every dog is different. Overall, dogs recover much more quickly from a blood donation than humans do.

If you would like to get involved in a blood donation program ask your vet if you can register your pet as a donor and become a life saver.

For more information, please contact Sister M. De Clercq at the Onderstepoort Animal Blood Bank at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital on 082 908 3017/ marizelle.declercq@up.ac.za  Landline: 012 529 8001

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