Penn Animal Bloodmobile collects blood from about 1,500 regular volunteer donors.
Animals need transfusions for the same reasons as humans: traumatic accidents, anemia, excessive bleeding, and surgery.
The specialty of animal transfusion medicine is a relatively new concept, and its emergence necessitated the opening of the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania's blood bank for dogs.
On this day, Oakley and Prager were headed for Newark, Del., where the local veterinary clinic has organized a blood drive. The bloodmobile departs at exactly 7:30 a.m. It arrives ahead of time at the clinic, much to the delight of the event's organizer, Erin Vicari, a veterinarian. Soon the dogs and their owners come in, one after the other, every 15 minutes.
Today is slightly unusual. Often, Oakley collects blood from dogs in hunt clubs or the homes of true animal lovers where she knows which dogs carry the correct blood type. About 1,500 dogs are enrolled as regular donors. But today at the clinic, Oakley and Prager will have to type all the dogs because they are first-time donors.
More than a dozen different blood types have been recognized in the dog, so Oakley and Prager are looking for blood that is compatible with all types. Dogs that carry this type are considered universal donors because their blood will not clump when transfused; just as dogs have universal donors, they also have universal recipients.
The first dog to enter the bloodmobile is a brown Lab named Cody, and as dog blood donors go, he is rare. Only 40 percent of the canine population carries the universal blood type. And this particular veterinary clinic has not had luck in finding universal donors. But Cody is one of the four dogs today to be a universal donor.
Cody's appointment begins with a dog biscuit. While Prager is making friends with the dog, Oakley explains to the owner the requirements to be a donor. A donor must be at least one year of age and weigh more than 50 pounds. The dog cannot be on any medication, except for heartworm or flea preventative, and must be current on all vaccinations. If a dog has had any incidents of excessive bleeding, then he cannot be considered a donor. Finally, the dog has to carry the universal blood type.
The owner holds Cody's head and eases his anxiety with her voice as Prager gently inserts a needle into a vein in Cody's right forelimb. Cody, nervous about the whole experience, winces at first, but after the initial twinge of the needle, he calms down.
Oakley then types the blood by mixing it with a saline solution and a reagent. If the reagent causes the blood to clump, then it cannot be considered for donation. Cody's blood, however, stays in a fluid state. "We win," proclaims Oakley.
Oakley and Prager then lift Cody onto the examination table and lay him on his side. Much to the surprise of the owner, Cody has calmed down. Usually the dogs act more passive than expected. While the owner continues to comfort Cody and hold his head, Prager stabilizes the rest of his body. Oakley prepares another needle and slowly inserts it into Cody's neck.
After three minutes of drawing blood, with only about 30 seconds left, Cody can not sit still any longer. He makes a quick movement that upsets the placing of the needle. The blood begins to clot in the bag, making it impossible to finish. So Cody gets his bowl of nutritious, delicious food a little early. Maybe next time he will be able to sit still. The bloodmobile wants each universal donor to return at least three times in light of the cost of typing blood.
The owner thanks Oakley and Prager and leaves with a bag of food and a goody-bag for participating in such a worthy cause. Oakley and Prager wait for the next patient to arrive in a few minutes.
The day ends six hours later after the last dog has been seen. Oakley and Prager pack up, thank Vicari for her participation, and return to Penn. Back at VHUP, Oakley and her personnel process the acquired blood. Here, it is broken down into its smaller components: plasma, clotting factors, platelets and other products. Veterinarians are able to use the universal blood type for every type of transfusion in dogs without further testing.
Besides being used in VHUP, the blood and its products are shipped all over the country to veterinarians in need. Penn is one of four blood banks nationwide. One of them, in Maryland, was started with VHUP's help.
Penn's program lives up to its motto, pets helping pets.
Return to Compass Features for November 11, 1997