Insane Vet Practice???
If they don't use donors, where do they get the blood for surgeries, etc.? Wondering if this is a clandestine move or if this is what they have to do. Either way the end result should be a positive, loving home for the hero. Your thoughts are appreciated as I try to muddle through this. |
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| I don't know - sad depends on if the dog was adopted out or not?
I believe greyhounds make good donors (something to do with bloodtype?) I can't recall hearing about a "normal" vet having a dog (or dogs) specifically on hand as blood donors - universities or other specialty vets perhaps are more likely to do so. Instances I can think of the dog has either lived with one of the staff or has been the resident mascot - i.e. basically normal dogs, except on hand in case of an emergency. My regular vet has had one of her boys donate blood if needed and I've told her if she's ever in a pinch to let me know and one of my youngsters would help if suitable. Last I checked there was nothing nefarious about it. They don't have blood drives as we do for people - nor do they use blood transfusions as frequently as you see in people - but it does occur and so donor dogs are some times needed. Kristine |
| Actually, if anyone is interested, here are a couple of articles that explain the process. The first one also explains a bit about how to go about it if you think your dog might be a good candidate to be a donor.
And, my mistake, the do evidently have pet blood banks now. Interesting reading!!! http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32483.asp http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22611158/ Kristine |
| I remember seeing a show on Animal Planet 5 or so years ago...may have been an episode of K9 to 5. There were two greyhounds who were donors at a university vet school or something. They either lived with someone who worked there or just regular people. They were brought in at regular intervals to donate blood. Other than that they were just normal pets. When they were past prime age to donate they would just live as regular pets. |
Mophead wrote: Does anyone know if it is a normal practice for vets to keep a dog(s) as blood donors? We have what I think is at least the second occurance of a dog being kept 12-18 months, saving numberous lives by giving blood and then when he is no longer useful he is either adopted out or euthanized. A sad ending for a hero!
If they don't use donors, where do they get the blood for surgeries, etc.? Wondering if this is a clandestine move or if this is what they have to do. Either way the end result should be a positive, loving home for the hero. Your thoughts are appreciated as I try to muddle through this. Last month I got a rotti pulled from a kill shelter in Buffalo, where her days were numbered. She was an owner surrender, and was in the shelter for 6 weeks, before I got her out. During her time there she was a blood doner. But I haven't heard of a dog kept especially for that..Sounds gruesome,a ctually...Like dogs that are kept in research labs so vet students can practice giving shots etc. I know they are routinely adopted out, after a certain length of time. Maybe it is the same type of thing? |
| Just watched a dog whisper show last week...and there was a dog, he was to make the dog more people friendly,the dog was at a spca...the dog was there for 2 years and they were also using him as a blood donor, never heard of that before. The dog was recused from a lady who bought the dog chained him up as a pup and never adjusted the collar on him. It was cut through his skin inchs... so he was very fearful of new people... but excellent when he got to know people. A little off topic... but I never heard of blood donors, never really thought of it before thou. |
| One of our members, Donna ("Kramer's Mom"), regularly had her OES boy Kramer donate blood. She was in quite a few news reports about it.
If you are curious about it, perhaps you could drop her a PM! Here is her profile page. |
| GOOD NEWS....Elmer, the dog I wrote about "being used up" as a blood donor is going to a "no kill" rescue this weekend!!! Yea, Elmer!!!
Thank you to all who responded. This definitely is a new topic for me also. Special thanks to Kristen for the informative links. My dogs being used as blood donors? Oh my! I am not sure I could do that, but then I think, what if people didn't donate blood for us when we need it. Very thought promoting. We don't seem to think to negatively about that. I have never thought about blood donors for dogs. Thankfully, somebody has. I have since learned, Elmer has been at the vet so long because he is dog agressive and they have had trouble finding him a home. They only recently reached out for help. Thanks again! |
Thanks, Ron. I learn something new everytime on the forum.  |
Mophead wrote: GOOD NEWS....Elmer, the dog I wrote about "being used up" as a blood donor is going to a "no kill" rescue this weekend!!! Yea, Elmer!!!
I have since learned, Elmer has been at the vet so long because he is dog agressive and they have had trouble finding him a home. They only recently reached out for help. Thanks again! I hope he has better luck than the dog that just joined one of our classes. He was in a no kill shelter for 8 years! |
Mmm, I've never even given this a thought  |
Yes, I've heard of a couple of practices keeping a donor dog before. To do this honorably though they really should ensure the dog is rehomed after a reasonable period of time and provide some form of interaction other than blood draws. Anything less and they're simply being used. (Glad to hear they ARE honorable  )
Hemopet uses Greyhounds for their blood program and rehomes them... it's a great program. http://www.hemopet.org/adoption.html If anyone saw the new Petfinder program, one of Hemopet's Greyhounds was shown as an adoption candidate |
| Our vet clinic actively solicits blood donor animals from their clients/patients. They "sell" it by saying that a pet will get a free wellness exam each time it donates, plus I believe, some sort of blood work up. The vet has some low income clients so I am sure it's a good incentive for a free check up.
Before we had our cat put to sleep last week, we were exploring the options with his cancer as his red blood cell count was very low. The vet was explaining if we wanted to go the operation route for the tumor, that our cat would need a blood transfusion. They would have called in a cat to be a donor. The transfusion price tag itself was about $250. We chose not to do anything invasive because it would have only given us a couple more months with our cat. |
kerry wrote: I hope he has better luck than the dog that just joined one of our classes. He was in a no kill shelter for 8 years!
8 years!! Poor guy!! What breed is he? I cannot imagine a dog having to live in a shelter for 8 years, then try to adapt to a totally different life. Must be a hard transition for him. I hope he does well. |
6Girls wrote: Hemopet uses Greyhounds for their blood program and rehomes them... it's a great program. I believe the blood is compatible with both dogs and cats??
No, cats need separate donors and they are much harder to collect, not being as inclined to cooperate as a nicely mannered dog would - they usually have to be tranquilized.
I seem to recall that a higher percentage of greyhounds than many other dog populations fall into the universal donor category, and the blood of racing greyhounds, with their tremendous conditioning/cardiac capacity, tends to have a higher than normal oxygen content as well, or some such thing. The move among most blood banks appears be solicit donors among the pet population. The requirements vary somewhat but basically they're looking for dogs 55 lbs and up, roughly in the age range 1-8, utd on vaccinations, healthy, no prior blood transfusions themselves and not having been bred (think potential "STDs", I presume). Also, dog should be confident and comfortable being handled and otherwise of a good temperament. My vet's OES boy was on standby for somebody's surgery - I forget if it was a spay or a c-section - and we joked that if god forbid something went wrong, at least we'd be "staying" within the breed. But that is, of course, by no means a prereq. Said vet had a case of hemolytic anemia in a young cat just recently - the cat belonged to her receptionist in fact - and one of the staff members' own cat was called in to donate. There is a need for cat donors as well. Kristine |
| After my initial shock, this has been an informative discussion and I have learned a lot. For those of you who have not read the links Kristine posted, please do. Apparently this is a great need and many of us have been unaware. Here are the links again:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32483.asp http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22611158/ Elmer is again a hero bringing this to light. Thanks Elmer! (He does have a rescue actively working on finding him a home.) |
Pepsi's Mommy wrote: kerry wrote: I hope he has better luck than the dog that just joined one of our classes. He was in a no kill shelter for 8 years! 8 years!! Poor guy!! What breed is he? I cannot imagine a dog having to live in a shelter for 8 years, then try to adapt to a totally different life. Must be a hard transition for him. I hope he does well.He is a deaf pit bull mix, dog and people aggressive. Oddly enough the volunteers at the shelter had taken him to oedience classes over the years so he has some training. His joining the lass started a discussion about no kill shelters and how effective they are. |
| I hope the boy mentioned above finds a forever home.
As for the topic : Ole Blue has been a blood donor. Many years ago when Shaggy was ill with immune deficientcy thrombocytopenia (an immune disorder) I had arrived home to find her laying on the floor unable to get up. Rushing her to the vet I was given her prognosis of the disorder that I mentioned. Her blood platlete count was 13 (near death) and the only thing that would save her life was blood from a donor. The regular donor dog my vet used was unavailable as it belonged to another vet who was on vacation. I said "I have Blue at home!". So it came to be that Blue who was 6 at the time was a suitable candidate. It was touch and go that weekend for Shaggy but in the end she survived and her brother was responsible! Marianne |
| Marianne, thank you for sharing about Shaggy and Blue. Sometimes it takes someone like Elmer, the dog in trouble to cause me to search out the reality of the situations some face...and learn something new. Thankfully, you had a happy ending for Shaggy. Elmer too, has someone looking for a forever home for him and I hope the other dog mentioned (in rescue for 8 years) finds that perfect home also. Being a blood donor has opened up a whole new aspect of veterinary care, rescue, etc. These guys are heros. |
| I sent an email to Kramer's Mom on Monday to ask if she'd like to tell his story about being a blood donor. Her reply to me on Monday night went to my spam box which I was about to empty today when I saw her message. I was just destroyed to learn that Kramer passed away suddenly in January. I just wanted to let people know.  |
| Ron,
I was just going to post that Kramer passed away. Though we'd never met I feel like I knew him through his great photos & antics Donna shared on different sites. |
Oh no.  |
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