Samson is a nine-year-old Kelpie (pictured below) and belongs to one of the veterinarians at SASH Northern Beaches; he’s about to save a life.
But, he’ll need more help.
Some may think the process of donating blood is exclusive to people, in reality cats and dogs need life-saving blood transfusions every week. Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH) Vets say they are in desperate need for animal blood donors on the Northern Beaches, and advise a shortage is a national issue.
Samson was in nervous spirits before the procedure. Mainly because he knows this is when mum takes advantage of his sedated state and clips his nails – a grooming aspect he still hasn’t quite wrapped his head around.
Fortunately, the staff at Balgowlah SASH Vets are trained to make the process as comfortable for the donor as possible and within five minutes of beginning the donation it was over, with a bag of blood filled, packed and ready to save a life.
At the moment, nearly all of the donors at the clinic belong to veterinarians on staff. With the demand for life saving blood transfusions on the rise the animal hospital is making the call for Northern Beaches locals to volunteer their pets for procedures.
Dr Stephanie Leeder is the Blood Bank Director at SASH Vets on the Northern Beaches and North Ryde. She’s been assisting with blood donations for seven years and knows better than anyone about the reservations owners can have when contemplating volunteering their best pal to give blood.
Although the need for donations is crucial, Dr Leeder understands it can cause anxiety in owners even more so than pets.
“The number one thing that we care about in our blood donor program is to never, ever, ever hurt a donor. And that’s why we are pretty picky with the dogs that we let into the program,” she said.
Happy and calm pups are the preferred plasma pledgers, but it’s not a dealbreaker as it’s perfectly normal for dogs to be unsure of a new environment.
“We can give them a light anxiety medication, and a lot of times that’s all that’s needed. If they need more than that, if they’re really scared, then they’re probably not good donors, and we’ll say that they shouldn’t come in and donate again.”
So, you got a happy go lucky puppy – are there other steps for donating?
What It Takes To Donate
To ensure the blood donating process is as comfortable and safe for the patient as possible, there are a few parameters dogs must meet.
- Healthy and up-to-date with vaccinations, heartworm prevention and worming
- Aged between 1-7 years old
- Weighs at least 14 kg (although over 25 kg is ideal) and is not overweight
- Has no significant current or previous illness
- Has never received a blood transfusion
- Has a friendly and obedient demeanour
- Is able to lie still for 5-10 mins
If your pet doesn’t line up to each of these requirements, don’t fret, there are always exceptions.
SASH will review the medical history of your pet. They will get a full exam, blood work and infectious disease screening to make sure they are healthy and aren’t going to hurt any other recipient’s dog with their donation.
If you have a dog on the larger side, these are preferred as they can donate more blood.
“Dogs over 17 kilos are ideal so that they’re big enough to actually donate blood. And the bigger the dog, the better. Really large dogs can actually donate two units, which can actually save four other dogs in our ICU,” Dr Leeder said.
Like dogs, cats also need blood transfusions. But, unlike dogs, they aren’t expected to be well behaved.
“Cats are even more valuable [donors] than dogs. I have yet to meet a cat that does not need to be asleep to donate. Cats are inherently nervous animals, so they take a short nap,” Dr Leeder explained.
Feline friends will need to be at least 4 kg to donate and provide around 50 millilitres of blood per donation, which is about 400 millilitres less than dogs.
Why Is There Such A Need For Donations?
Well, much like humans, dogs and cats need blood transfusions for a number of reasons.
Common concerns relate to blood loss during surgeries, this can be apparent during large tumour removals or for anaemic conditions.
“There are some autoimmune diseases where dogs will actually destroy their own red cells or their own platelets, the clotting cells, and then they can have bleeding as a result of that, and go through, sometimes, large amounts of blood products while we’re waiting for their disease to get better,” Dr Leeder explained.
Once the blood is taken it is separated into red blood cells and plasma and then stored for when a transfusion is needed.
The blood can be stored for about 30 days and is never wasted. If it’s not used within the Northern Beaches branch it is transported to other SASH clinics around Sydney that may need it.
Scooby Snacks?
Yes, there will be Scooby snacks for the brave donors – or at least the equivalent to it.
Royal Canin is a premium brand of dog food and a sponsor of SASH Vets. Donors will get the choice of a big bag of the kibbly treats or a range of tick and flea treatments.
Each visit also comes with a medical examination and full blood work which is usually valued at around hundreds of dollars.
Rewards aside, volunteering to have your pet donate blood can save the lives of others who need it. There is a real need for blood transfusions on the Northern Beaches.
“When I take my own dog for a walk on the beach, there’s a lot of big dogs. So there’s a huge capacity in the Northern Beaches area to help save other dogs in the ICU,” Dr Leeder said.
“Now that we have a hospital in this location, we’re really excited to be part of the community and get to know happy, healthy dogs and their families and try and help the dogs in the community that aren’t happy and healthy.”
If you’d like to volunteer your pet to donate, you can do so by contacting SASH Vets in Balgowlah, or by visiting their website.
