Who knew that pets donate blood?

Did you know that cats and dogs have blood types, and that your pets can be heroes were they to become blood donors?

Realising that there’s a lot about animals that many humans simply do not know (because not everyone is a vet), is usually the first step taken by humans looking to understand their pets better.

The best way to love your pet, is to know how your pet’s life (or lives) can be saved at any point through a blood transfusion at a veterinary hospital or clinic. Vets tend to be very busy, and pet hospitals can get busy. That said, Bryanston Veterinary Hospital’s (BVH) Dr Shira Samson took a moment after surgery on September 2 to talk about pet blood donations, and the different types of bloods common pets have.

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“Dogs have seven different blood types: they are the DEAs (Dog Erythrocyte Antigens):1.1, 1.2, and 1.3; DEA 3, 4, 5, and 7. But we only check for DEA 1.1 positive, or negative, when a dog comes to donate,” Samson taught with a smile.

“They’re just the most common ones,” she explained. “When your dog comes in to donate, we do a little blood test that tells us if they have the positive or negative antigen, it’s like the Rhesus (Rh) factor in people.”

Cats, on the other hand, only have three blood types: A, B, and AB. Interestingly, cats can suffer from feline leukaemia (FeLV), as well as a feline immuno-deficiency virus (FIV) – which gets spread when cats come into close physical contact with one another.

“It’s HIV – but in cats. This is spread via cats in close contact. It’s more your male roaming cats who spread it when they get into fights,” Samson explained. “It’s not transmissible to dogs or people. FIV is more common in feral animals, stray cats that you pick up and rehome: once in a household, it does tend to spread amongst your cats.

“FeLV is kind of like leukaemia, but cats have a contagious version: we say that FeLV is the love virus as it’s spread via cats grooming each other, licking, and sharing food bowls,” said Samson. “But these are conditions that can be managed. We can’t cure them, but we can manage them.”

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Samson also put into context why it’s important to always have blood on supply, as it’s almost impossible to predict when a pet may need an urgent blood transfusion.

“Usually, when an animal is in need of a blood transfusion, it’s an emergency. So, we require people that have pets at home, who are suitable donors, to come in so that we can have a store of blood, so that we don’t need a live donor,” Samson said, explaining the procedure. “It’s free, and there are benefits for your pets to become donors. They get a health check when they come, basically a free vet check; we do a blood smear on them to ensure that they don’t have any blood-borne parasites – which are normally carried by tics.

“Then we do the blood donation procedure: we sedate the animals; just a little bit of sedation to make them calm, and relaxed, so that they’re comfortable throughout the procedure,” Samson concluded. “We give all our donors their annual vaccinations, as well as a three-month tic-and-flea control product. They also get a little treat to go home with.”

Important things to note when taking your cat or dog in to donate blood:

Dogs need to:

• Be aged 2–7.

• Weigh more than 25kg.

• Be a pretty good temperament, so that it’s mutually less stressful for dog and medical practitioner.

• Be up-to-date on vaccines, de-worming, and tic-and-flea control – which is made easier by us giving that to you when your dog donates.

• Not be on any medication.

• Not have any history of having received a blood transfusion, because that can cause a reaction. If your dog has a blood transfusion, they can’t be a donor, because the blood that they donate will react in the dog they give it to.

Cats need to:

• Be between one and eight years old.

• Weigh more than 4.5kg.

• Be negative for feline AIDS, and feline leukaemia. If you’re not sure, there’s a snap test we can run that takes just a drop of blood, which will tell us.

• Be up-to-date on vaccines, de-worming, and tic-and-flea control.

• Not be on any medication.

• Not have any history of having received a blood transfusion

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