Find Out About Donating Blood From Dogs

Maybe like me, this is a topic you’ve never thought about. But the truth is, what happens if a dog has an accident and needs a transfusion? Where do they get the blood? And now that we’ve thought about that, do dogs have different blood types? We are going to take a tour of this topic, we will explain you about canine blood donation. We invite you to come.

Steps to follow for a canine blood donation

Like people, dogs also undergo exhaustive tests to see if their health is good enough for a canine blood transfusion.

It must be clearly determined that the dog is free of anemia, internal damage, chronic diseases and other things that could cause the blood to not be 100%.

For what type of dogs is a canine transfusion needed?

L as transfusions are of primary importance for those dogs that:

• Are bleeding from some kind of illness
• Those who have anemia
• For those with low hemoglobin levels
• Those who suffer serious accidents
• Those who may have some type of disease that can contaminate the blood

How many blood groups are present in dogs?

The amount taken from a dog for a blood donation is the same as it is for people, a little less than half a liter, 450 milliliters to be exact.

In dogs there are 8 different blood groups and they are:

• DEA 1.1
• 1.2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8

The most important and common are DEA 1.1 and 1.2, so the ideal is for the donor to have this negative blood type.

When you are going to perform a transfusion in a dog for the first time, it is not necessary to make sure what type it is, since there is no case of canine transfusion rejection. But if at later dates the same dog must undergo another canine transfusion, this must be of the same blood type as the dog’s.

How should a donor dog be?

Due to the extensive tests a dog undergoes to see if it can donate, it should be in excellent health. They must have all the vaccinations up to date, be totally dewormed and not present any infectious disease. 

For a year, before becoming a donor, you will undergo two complete examinations to verify that everything is fine and that there was no “hidden” disease that had not yet manifested itself.

They should weigh at least 20 kilos, and calm-tempered dogs such as the Labrador are much better since it would not be necessary to resort to sedation to perform the extraction. You can donate every 8 weeks.

Where can you make a canine blood donation?

The truth is that there is very little awareness on this issue and in Spain, particularly, there are very few blood banks where pets can be donated.

It’s a shame, as more and more dogs need a canine transfusion. From My Animals we want to appeal to those who have pets and are residents of Spain to do their bit by being generous and helping to save the lives of other people’s pets.

The different blood banks are located in different veterinary universities, so normally the dogs that are located there or those of the researchers and students who are there on a daily basis, are the only canine blood donors that there are. But its doors are open to anyone who wants to take their pet.

The animal will not suffer any damage and everything will be free of charge. Help others keep their pet with them.

Here we leave you the names and locations of blood banks in Spain. If you do not live in Spain, talk to your veterinarian to find out where you can take your dog to donate blood.

• Hospital of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Madrid of the Complutense University of Madrid.
• Hospital of the Veterinary Faculty of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​and as private they are:

• Canine Blood Bank of Valencia.
• Madrid Veterinary Transfusion Center.
• Maresme Veterinary Hospital.

Solidarity is not giving what is left over but what we need.