Sistemul rapid de accesare a donatorilor de sange in medicina de urgenta veterinara - Rapid access system of blood donors in veterinary emergency medicine

Poster - Sistemul rapid de accesare a donatorilor de sange in medicina de urgenta veterinara - Rapid access system of blood donors in veterinary emergency medicine

RAPID ACCESS SYSTEM OF BLOOD DONORS IN VETERINARY EMERGENCY MEDICINE

 

SISTEMUL RAPID DE ACCESARE A DONATORILOR DE SÂNGE ÃŽN MEDICINA DE URGENŢǍ VETERINARǍ

 

Sînziana RǍDULESCU, F. GUSTERE, D. COBZARIU, S. BǍRǍITǍREANU,

*University of Agronomical Science and Veterinary Medicine
Splaiul Independenţei 105, Sector 5, Bucharest,

e-mail: sanzi_ana@yahoo.com

 

Veterinary emergency medicine, animal blood-bank, veterinary blood transfusion, dog blood donors, cat blood donors

 

SUMMARY

 

For companion animals, the necessary transfusion technology developed during the nineteenth century, and the use of blood or blood products has increased over the last several years. Hemotransfusion can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to trauma, sever anemia or thrombocytopenia caused by a blood disease, or can be used to replace blood loss during surgery. In this paper we expose our process in creation of the fist animal blood bank in Romania to meet the needs of the field veterinarians and most of their patients. Our purpose is to provide veterinarians with safe blood products, transfusion supplies and knowledge about transfusion. We are dedicated to our partnership with veterinarians to provide the best in patient care. This full-service blood bank will provide blood components and supplies for transfusions to veterinary clinics. The program is focused on providing: clinical efficacy use of compatible blood components specific for patient needs, professional consultations by specialists, patient safety, protected donor environment minimizes exposure to blood-borne pathogens, recipient compatibility, (our donors must have universally compatible blood type), product availability for critical emergencies through local clinics that stock blood products.

 

Blood transfusion, the established therapeutic method for anemic human patients, has recently become more used in veterinary medicine. For companion animals, the necessary transfusion technology developed during the nineteenth century, and the use of blood or blood products has increased over the last several years.

Hemotransfusion can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to trauma, sever anemia or thrombocytopenia caused by a blood disease, or can be used to replace blood loss during surgery.

A single unit of blood can potentially be divided into three components (red blood cells, plasma and platelets), so when appropriate they can then be used separately, getting maximum use from each donated unit of blood and reducing the risk of adverse reactions in the recipient by only giving the needed elements. This is now commonplace in human medicine and starting to be available in canine medicine, but currently remains rare in feline medicine.

Multiple transfusions can be a problem. Even though the donor and recipient may be compatible originally, the recipient's immune system may build up sensitivity to a specific donor. Thus, every time you transfuse, you need to cross-match to make sure that your donor and recipient are compatible. (2)

Blood transfusion reactions may be prevented by following standard blood transfusion protocol: thorough cross-checking of blood types to assure a match, condition of donor blood to prevent infection or spread of disease, and appropriate storage of donor blood.

Dogs have eight different blood groups; labeled as DEA (dog erythrocyte antigen) 1 to 8. Dogs that are DEA 1.1 negative are considered universal donors. (2)

In cats there are three major blood groups— A, B and AB. Cats do not have a universal donor; therefore, it is especially important that donor and recipient are cross-matched. It is generally accepted that blood transfusions are more difficult in cats than in dogs. Studies looking at the indications and success of feline blood transfusions suggest that the most common reasons for blood transfusion in cats in Germany and the USA are: anaemia caused by blood loss (44%1, 27%2, 52%3), bone marrow failure (38%1,3), anaemia caused by chronic renal failure (20%2), haemolytic anaemia (14%1, 10%3). (1)

Some veterinarians maintain registers of owners who have signaled their willingness to allow their cats to be used as blood donors and this can be very helpful, but even so it is not always easy to find a compatible cat who is available to be brought into the practice immediately and who has not been fed (so he/she can be sedated), and then running the necessary pre-collection health and infectious disease tests adds additional time and complexity to the situation. Taking all this into consideration, feline blood banks would provide an easily accessible source of safe, pre- tested blood of known blood type, and would make blood transfusion much more practical for veterinary practices. Despite the benefits, collection from pet-owned cats does involve some risk to the cat, and the raft of pre-collection tests required might limit the number of owners willing to 'volunteer' their cats, as well as adding significantly to the financial cost of each unit of blood.

As with human blood donors, animal donors are tested to make sure blood values are high enough and no infectious disease is present before blood is drawn. Donors must meet weight requirements-5kg for cats and 25kg for dogs. Fluid is replaced after blood is drawn, and the body compensates by producing new red blood cells. Also, similar to human donations, there must be a waiting period of at least two months before blood is collected again. (2)

Private veterinarians sometimes use their pet dogs or cats as blood donors when emergencies arise. Therefore, we are in the process of creating the fist animal blood bank in Romania to meet the needs of the field veterinarians and most of their patients.

Our purpose is to provide veterinarians with safe blood products, transfusion supplies and knowledge about transfusion. We are dedicated to our partnership with veterinarians to provide the best in patient care. This full-service blood bank will provide blood components and supplies for transfusions to veterinary clinics. The program is focused on providing: clinical efficacy use of compatible blood components specific for patient needs, professional consultations by specialists, patient safety, protected donor environment minimizes exposure to blood-borne pathogens, recipient compatibility, (our donors must have universally compatible blood type), product availability for critical emergencies through local clinics that stock blood products.

The animal donors and their owners will be registered into our database which will be accessed every time a field veterinarian or veterinary clinic is in need for blood products. (Fig 1)

With the help of www.magazinveterinar.ro website, educational materials will be provided in order to help veterinarians and especially pet owners understand the importance of “volunteering� animals to donate blood and, therefore, save other pets’ lives.

Fig 1. The blood bank data flow scheme

 

Donors should be checked and approved by a veterinary surgeon. They must be healthy and able to donate blood in order to minimize the risks of donations. An ideal blood donor is a friendly, healthy, clinically normal pet and, if female, not pregnant or nursing. Donors should be immunized (but not sooner than 10-14 days prior to donation) and with no infectious, parasitic and blood diseases.

Blood can be collected from unsedated (if they are cooperating), sedated or anesthetized pets, if necessary. Cats usually need sedation or general anesthesia. Blood is collected in human blood bags or syringes with anticoagulant. A large and accessible vein is needed - usually jugular vein or, sometimes, the cephalic vein.

A standard blood donation in dogs is consisted of 450ml (“a canine unit ") and it can be safely obtained from a 25kg dog. The cats usually donate 11-13 ml / kg. Repeated blood donations in a relatively short period of time can lead to anemia and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, after a donation is performed and recorded in our database, the donor will not be called for another donation for 2 or 3 months.

Our goal is to organize a national blood bank equipped with diagnosis laboratories for blood-borne diseases. Unfortunately the high costs limit the implementation of the program, but, with the financial support of the veterinary organizations and companies this project could become reality in a very short period of time.