Introduction

This article aims to analyze the safety of canine blood donation by describing the frequency and causes of any adverse reactions.

Methods

In this prospective study, any blood donor adverse reactions detected by the clinical staff during and immediately after donation were recorded. Post-donation a minimum of 30 minutes of monitoring was recorded and a complete physical exam was performed before the donor left the room. The owners of the dogs were also surveyed by a veterinary practitioner or veterinary nurse 3 days after donation, using a predefined questionnaire to assess for any clinical or behavioral changes. Data were collected between December 2020 and December 2021 from blood donors enrolled in an animal blood bank program. The information regarding 4439 blood donations from 2776 canine donors was recorded.

Results

From the 4439 donations, 37 (0.83%) adverse post-donation reactions were reported with no other reactions identified in the remaining 4402 donations (99.17%). Of the total donations in the study period, 0.63% (n=28) of canine donors presented a hematoma in the puncture area, 0.11%(n=5) presented mild bleeding at the puncture site during the monitoring period, and 0.045% (n=2) presented a skin rash after clipping for donation and 0.045%(n=2) presented weakness and pallor during the 30 minutes monitoring period, with mild tachypnea and tachycardia consistent with hypotension. In both cases showing signs of hypotension, all parameters stabilized and clinical signs resolved within 10–15 minutes upon administration of a 10 ml/kg bolus over 10 minutes of intravenous NaCl.

No other delayed reactions were reported by the owners other than the evolution of the acute reactions already registered by the donations team.

Conclusions

The low incidence of post-donation reactions in this study is encouraging, suggesting that a high level of safety can be achieved in a structured canine donor program, therefore, increasing the confidence of dog owners in the donation process.

E-mail: helenaferreira@bsanimal.com