SARASOTA – January is National Blood Donor Month – not just for us, but for our four-legged friends, too.
BluePearl Blood Bank Criticalist Dr. Lesleigh Redavid says dogs and cats need blood donations for the same reasons we do.
“Sometimes infections in the blood stream,” Redavid said. “Unfortunately, trauma, so God forbid a pet gets hit by a car and is bleeding internally and needs blood to stabilize for surgery.”
It can also be used for transfusions when a pet has cancer. BluePearl Critical Care Technician Ashley Winkelspecht says they, too, are pre-screened before they can donate.
“Make sure they’re up to date on vaccines, have good prevention, we do require heart-worm, flea and tick,” Winkelspecht said. “They do have to be indoor only if it’s a cat.”
Cats have to be over ten pounds and dogs, over 50.
“Between the ages of 1 and 8, they’ve never had blood transfusions before, and no type of infections, but we test them for all of that,” Winkelspecht said.
The bigger and healthier the dog, the more lives they can save.
“If they’re over 100 pounds, they can actually donate 900 mils, so a double donation,” Winkelspecht said.
They do a mock donation first and take a little blood from the neck to make sure each pet is comfortable.
“No cat is gonna lay still for a donation, so they do get sedation to help calm them down,” Redavid said. “Most of our dogs have really good temperaments; they come they wag their tails.”
Winkelspecht says it’s not for every pet or every parent, and that’s okay.
“Our biggest thing is we don’t want it to be traumatic,” Winkelspect said. “They’re doing an elective thing to help other pets, so we wanna make sure they’re also having fun, they’re getting treats, they’re getting toys, and they’re happy about it.”
BluePearl has the only pet blood bank in Sarasota. If your dog or cat meets donor requirements and you’d like to set up a screening you can call (941)-923-7260 or e-mail bloodbank.sarasota@bluepearlvet.com.
