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A blood bank for dogs
We now have our own blood bank at the hospital, ensuring that, in cases of emergency, we can provide blood transfusions to injured or sick dogs needing blood.
Do you know the blood group of your dog? Could you tell your vet what it was if your dog needed an emergency transfusion?
Most people don’t realise that, just like us, dogs have different blood types — except they have thirteen blood types, far more than in humans. This could make cross matching for blood transfusions a little difficult but, fortunately, nature has organised things so that one of the blood types in dogs is considered a ‘universal donor,’ meaning it can be used in any dog for an emergency transfusion.
Luckily for our clients, we have some rather large dogs who have generously, although perhaps not always gracefully, regularly provided blood for emergency situations.
With our new in-house blood typing test, which can be carried out in our own pathology lab, we have now identified all of the ‘universal donors’ in our furry family, giving us our own basic blood bank for dogs needing emergency blood transfusions. It’s already proved a life saver, and having an adequate supply of blood available at the hospital blood bank may save the life of your own precious pooch one day. We can also test your dog for blood typing, and keep the details on file in case of future needs. Call us for details.
As far as we are aware, Alpine Animal Doctors is the only veterinary clinic in the region with the facilities to not only test for blood typing but also routinely hold blood products for emergencies.