Dog and Cat Blood Donations
Each year, thousands of pets’ lives are saved through blood transfusions. At VSH, blood component therapy is commonly-used for traumatic injuries, parasitic and immune-related disease, for surgical procedures, and many other life-threatening problems. As our patient load grows, our need for quality blood products grows as well.
How You and Your Pet Can Help
Our Blood Donor Program collects dog and cat blood donations from healthy pets. If you are interested in participating in this life-saving program and your pet meets the requirements, we will set up a screening appointment during which your cat or dog will be given a physical exam by one of our critical care specialists. A small amount of blood will be drawn by our Blood Donor Program staff for laboratory screening and typing.
Donor Responsibilities
Every 6-8 weeks (or as needed) our blood bank coordinators will reach out to schedule your pet’s donation. This will typically be scheduled no later than a week in advance.
Donor Compensation
Donors will be compensated at the time of each donation and will receive:
- Complimentary screening bloodwork, yearly if re-enrolled. This includes base-line blood work and infectious disease testing.
- Exam prior to each donation
- All blood work and records sent to your regular veterinarian.
- Free vaccines
Animals Donating Blood Really is a Thing!
Learn more about what it takes for your special pet to be a hero!
Drs. Krista Vernaleken and Lindsay Renzullo of Bulger Veterinary Hospital in Lawrence, MA recently discussed the subject of donating blood for dogs and cats in an episode of the PAWEDcast. More episodes, and the complete episode (which answers frequent pet owner questions) is available on our PAWEDcast landing page. The PAWEDcast is available on youtube, and where ever you listen to podcasts.
