Transfusion Medicine (Collection Techniques)
Posted: Friday, August 27th, 2021 | Updated: Wednesday, August 24th, 2022
Posted: Friday, August 27th, 2021 | Updated: Wednesday, August 24th, 2022
Canine Whole Blood:
1 unit of whole blood is roughly 450 ml
Considering 1 ml of whole blood is approximately 1.06 grams, the total weight of the unit will be roughly 477 grams
Administer immediately or within 4 to 6 hours for optimal platelet viability
Store for up to 35 days at 1 to 6 degrees C (stored whole blood). After 24 hours, the platelets are non-viable
Canine Packed Red Blood Cells:
1 unit of pRBC is roughly 120 ml
Store for up to 35 to 42 days at 1 to 6 degrees C
Gently rock the bag daily if able to allow the red blood cells access to nutrients
Once the bag is spiked, use immediately and/or within 24 hours if refrigerated at 2 to 6 degrees C
Canine Fresh Frozen Plasma:
1 unit of FFP is roughly 120 ml
Feline Whole Blood:
1 unit of whole blood is roughly 50-60 ml
Collection via smaller syringes and a butterfly catheter is recommended
Use about 1 ml of anticoagulant to collect about 9 ml of whole blood in 10-12 ml syringes for a total of 6 syringes
You may transfer the collected blood into an empty blood collection bag if desired
Feline Packed Red Blood Cells:
1 unit of pRBC is roughly 20-30 ml
Anticoagulants Used:
CPDA-1 is citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine. With use for canine blood, the collection bags generally have 63 ml of CPDA-1 and are able to hold 450 ml of blood
ACD is acid-citrate-dextrose. With use for feline blood, a butterfly catheter is generally used to collect blood in a 1 ml of anticoagulant to 6-9 ml of whole blood. The same ratio is used for CPDA-1. One unit of feline whole blood usually contains 7 ml anticoagulant and 53 ml of whole blood for a total volume of 60 ml
Donor Dog Requirements:
Dogs should weigh more than 50 pounds, have a calm personality, have no known health issues, and be 1-7 years of age. Bloodwork typically includes a blood type, CBC, platelet count, chemistry, infectious disease screening, heartworm test, and brucellosis titers if intact. Donors should be vaccinated and only be on flea and heartworm medication
Dog Blood Types:
DEA 1, 3, 5, 7 with DEA 1 being the very antigenic and the most common typed for. DAL Kai 1 and 2 also are known to exist. They are mostly identified in Dalmatians, Shih Tzus, and Dobermans
Donor Cat Requirements:
Cats should weigh more than 10 pounds, have a calm personality, have no known health issues, and be 1-7 years of age. Bloodwork typically includes a blood type, CBC, platelet count, chemistry, infectious disease screening, heartworm test, and felv/fiv test. Donors should be vaccinated and only be on flea and heartworm medication
Cat Blood Types:
A, B, AB with Type A being the most prevalent. A wide percentage of cats also have a Mik antigen. In general, cats must receive their type of blood otherwise a fatal reaction is likely to occur
Blood Typing:
A couple varieties of tests are being utilized in practice.
The RapidVet-H blood typing cards display results in roughly 2 minutes. There are 3 wells on the card. The card for the dog is labeled as follows: autoagglutination saline screen, positive control, and patient test. The card for the cat is labeled as follows: autoagglutination saline screen, type a, and type b. The buffer solution associated with the specific card being used is placed into each of the wells, followed by the patient blood sample. An additional drop of buffer solution should be placed into the type a well on the feline card. Any agglutination seen in the patient well, type a well, or type b well means that they are positive for the antigen being tested for. If a patient is autoagglutinating prior to the test, the test may be inaccurate and display a false positive. In that case, the cells must be washed prior to testing. In patient's with a low PCV, the test may be more difficult to interpret
Another blood typing method with a QuickTest strip exists. In this method, 3 drops of the buffer solution are mixed with 1 drop of the patient's blood sample. The test comes with a membrane strip which is placed into the solution created. With the help of capillary action, the solution will migrate up the test strip. A control line will appear followed by the patient's revealed blood type. If any line appears after the control, no matter the shade, the patient will be positive for the tested antigen. In this test, patients that autoagglutinate or have a low PCV are not a contributing factor in a false positive or negative. This test also takes roughly 2 minutes to perform
1 unit of whole blood is roughly 450 ml
Considering 1 ml of whole blood is approximately 1.06 grams, the total weight of the unit will be roughly 477 grams
Administer immediately or within 4 to 6 hours for optimal platelet viability
Store for up to 35 days at 1 to 6 degrees C (stored whole blood). After 24 hours, the platelets are non-viable
Canine Packed Red Blood Cells:
1 unit of pRBC is roughly 120 ml
Store for up to 35 to 42 days at 1 to 6 degrees C
Gently rock the bag daily if able to allow the red blood cells access to nutrients
Once the bag is spiked, use immediately and/or within 24 hours if refrigerated at 2 to 6 degrees C
Canine Fresh Frozen Plasma:
1 unit of FFP is roughly 120 ml
Feline Whole Blood:
1 unit of whole blood is roughly 50-60 ml
Collection via smaller syringes and a butterfly catheter is recommended
Use about 1 ml of anticoagulant to collect about 9 ml of whole blood in 10-12 ml syringes for a total of 6 syringes
You may transfer the collected blood into an empty blood collection bag if desired
Feline Packed Red Blood Cells:
1 unit of pRBC is roughly 20-30 ml
Anticoagulants Used:
CPDA-1 is citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine. With use for canine blood, the collection bags generally have 63 ml of CPDA-1 and are able to hold 450 ml of blood
ACD is acid-citrate-dextrose. With use for feline blood, a butterfly catheter is generally used to collect blood in a 1 ml of anticoagulant to 6-9 ml of whole blood. The same ratio is used for CPDA-1. One unit of feline whole blood usually contains 7 ml anticoagulant and 53 ml of whole blood for a total volume of 60 ml
Donor Dog Requirements:
Dogs should weigh more than 50 pounds, have a calm personality, have no known health issues, and be 1-7 years of age. Bloodwork typically includes a blood type, CBC, platelet count, chemistry, infectious disease screening, heartworm test, and brucellosis titers if intact. Donors should be vaccinated and only be on flea and heartworm medication
Dog Blood Types:
DEA 1, 3, 5, 7 with DEA 1 being the very antigenic and the most common typed for. DAL Kai 1 and 2 also are known to exist. They are mostly identified in Dalmatians, Shih Tzus, and Dobermans
Donor Cat Requirements:
Cats should weigh more than 10 pounds, have a calm personality, have no known health issues, and be 1-7 years of age. Bloodwork typically includes a blood type, CBC, platelet count, chemistry, infectious disease screening, heartworm test, and felv/fiv test. Donors should be vaccinated and only be on flea and heartworm medication
Cat Blood Types:
A, B, AB with Type A being the most prevalent. A wide percentage of cats also have a Mik antigen. In general, cats must receive their type of blood otherwise a fatal reaction is likely to occur
Blood Typing:
A couple varieties of tests are being utilized in practice.
The RapidVet-H blood typing cards display results in roughly 2 minutes. There are 3 wells on the card. The card for the dog is labeled as follows: autoagglutination saline screen, positive control, and patient test. The card for the cat is labeled as follows: autoagglutination saline screen, type a, and type b. The buffer solution associated with the specific card being used is placed into each of the wells, followed by the patient blood sample. An additional drop of buffer solution should be placed into the type a well on the feline card. Any agglutination seen in the patient well, type a well, or type b well means that they are positive for the antigen being tested for. If a patient is autoagglutinating prior to the test, the test may be inaccurate and display a false positive. In that case, the cells must be washed prior to testing. In patient's with a low PCV, the test may be more difficult to interpret
Another blood typing method with a QuickTest strip exists. In this method, 3 drops of the buffer solution are mixed with 1 drop of the patient's blood sample. The test comes with a membrane strip which is placed into the solution created. With the help of capillary action, the solution will migrate up the test strip. A control line will appear followed by the patient's revealed blood type. If any line appears after the control, no matter the shade, the patient will be positive for the tested antigen. In this test, patients that autoagglutinate or have a low PCV are not a contributing factor in a false positive or negative. This test also takes roughly 2 minutes to perform
Sources:
Nusbaum, Rebecca. "Blood Transfusions in Anemic Dogs and Cats". Today's Veterinary Nurse. vol. 4, no. 3. Summer 2021. pp. 49-59.
Schoeffler, Gretchen Lee. “Canine and Feline Transfusion Medicine (Proceedings).” DVM 360, 1 Aug. 2009, www.dvm360.com/view/canine-and-feline-transfusion-medicine-proceedings.
Nusbaum, Rebecca. "Blood Transfusions in Anemic Dogs and Cats". Today's Veterinary Nurse. vol. 4, no. 3. Summer 2021. pp. 49-59.
Schoeffler, Gretchen Lee. “Canine and Feline Transfusion Medicine (Proceedings).” DVM 360, 1 Aug. 2009, www.dvm360.com/view/canine-and-feline-transfusion-medicine-proceedings.