Find out if your pet can be a blood donor (gpointstudio – Freepik)
Just like humans, dogs and cats need to meet certain requirements to donate blood, such as age and ideal weight, a friendly temperament, as well as undergoing a thorough clinical and laboratory screening, which is important for assessing risk factors that may make some pets ineligible for donation.
Animals become ineligible if they have clinical abnormalities; surgeries, treatments, vaccinations, or recent travel, as well as pregnant females or those with a recent pregnancy, and animals that have been neutered within 30 days before the donation.
One of the main concerns and mandatory factors for pet blood donation is performing specific laboratory tests to diagnose infectious diseases that could be transmitted to the recipients if the blood bag contains contaminated blood. Among all the diseases tested are leishmaniasis, transmitted to dogs by the bite of the commonly known “sandfly,” as well as hemoparasites, which can affect dogs and cats through transmission by flea and tick bites.
Once a dog or cat is deemed eligible for blood donation, they must be placed under care prior to the collection, with attention given to fasting and avoiding intense physical exercise before the procedure. There are also rules regarding the interval between collections for the same animal – it can be done every 3 to 4 months.
Medications used to prevent heartworm, ectoparasites, and dewormers do not prevent blood donation. “The most important thing is to take your pet to the blood center and check all these requirements with the specialized veterinary team,” warns veterinarian Patrícia Guimarães, Technical Promoter for Companion Animals at Vetoquinol Saúde Animal.
“We at Vetoquinol support the initiative of pet blood donation and emphasize the importance of preventing leishmaniasis and hemoparasitoses, which often result in the death of animals. Hemoparasitoses, for example, cause severe cases of anemia and are the reason for the high demand for blood bags for pets who need the benefits of a transfusion. Raising awareness about the prevention of these diseases through the use of ectoparasitic products must not stop. In this way, we are contributing to public health, to the blood-donating pets, to the recipients, and to the peace of mind of all pet owners.“, emphasizes the veterinarian.
This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
