Canine donors give gift of blood
BRYNN, a female Rottweiler, is a rare breed. She is one of a dozen canines in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands that regularly donates blood.
The donor blood is used to save the lives of dogs that come in for treatment at the local veterinary clinic in Hilton, about 98km outside Durban.
The clinic has a donor base of between 10 and 12 dogs — most of which belong to staff at the clinic.
“When there is an emergency, we will see whose dogs are available,” said Martin de Scally, a vet at the clinic who owns four of the 12 dogs.
Brynn belongs to another vet at the clinic, Derek Clover, who also owns a mixed-breed named Bandit that is on the donor list.
Sometimes clients with suitable dogs are also approached. But, as with humans, the criteria is strict.
“We don’t just take any animal [to donate],” De Scally said.
“There is a long checklist we go through. The dog must weigh at least 28kg because we take 450ml of blood — the same as a human donation — and it must be generally healthy and have been fully vaccinated.
“It’s important that the dog is calm and placid. We do everything possible to make sure the process is as painless as possible,” De Scally added.
The blood is drawn from the jugular — the main vein in the dog’s neck — or from a vein in the foot.
The process, from going through the checklist to removing the needle, takes less than 30 minutes.
It is safe to draw blood from a dog about once a month, although De Scally said the clinic did it less frequently. One unit of blood is stored in a fridge at the clinic and can be kept only for a month before it starts to degenerate.
The blood of the donor is matched against the blood of the recipient, but according to De Scally, it is not a major problem if it is not a perfect match because dogs mostly fall into two blood groups — DA1.4 and DA1.6.
When the donation is done, the dogs do not get a biscuit, but they do get a special treat.
“They are given a bowl of delicious, nutritious dog food. We pat them on the head and tell them that they’ve saved a life,” De Scally said.