More and more veterinary clinics from the U.S., the UK, Australia are reporting that they are in need of pet blood donations. Both dog and cat blood donations are usually paid for as they are valued very highly. The increase in demand for pet blood is due to the increased care that pet owners give their pets.
More and more in the last couple of decades, have dogs and cats become members of our families. They are not just animals we use for work anymore. This has led to an increase in the search for veterinary services, an increase in their prices, and an increase in pet insurance prices. And as a consequence – an increased need for pet blood donations.
Claire Sharp is an emergency and critical care veterinarian at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia and she explains it like this:
“I think 20 years ago, pet cats outside-only were, or only came inside occasionally,” she said.
“They were an aloof member of the family, not like a child or a true family member.”
“But over time, with dogs as well as cats, people in Australia began treating their pets like real family members.”
This increased demand is also met with an improved system for performing blood donations.
Just as with humans, dog and cat blood donations are done very professionally in most veterinary clinics in the West.
Manu Boller, an emergency and critical care veterinarian at the University of Melbourne, states that they are very careful even when just selecting the right animals for blood donations.
“We select dogs that come in with their tail wagging,” he said.
“If the owner has to drag it through the door, we wouldn’t allow such a dog to be in the program.”
Once the dog or cat is approved for giving blood, the procedure is done very professionally. Dog blood donations typically consist of 4.5 liters of blood, as it is with humans. This means that only dogs that weigh 25 kg or more are approved for donating blood. For cats, the amount of blood is much smaller – between 40 and 55 milliliters per donation. Only cats that weigh above 4 or 5 kg (depending on the particular clinic) are approved for donation.
If we view our pets as parts of our families thеn it stands to reason that we should give them medical care that is up to par. And just as human blood donations are extremely important, so are blood donations for pets.
