Do Pets Need Blood Donors? Absolutely!

Do pets need blood donors? Absolutely! Dr. Matt Vaughan and Dr. Jennifer Bentley discuss how your dog or cat can be heroes by donating blood at VRCCO. We discuss what kind of donors are needed, why there is a need for pet blood donors, the process for your pets, and more. Learn more about pet blood donation by emailing us at info@vrcvet.com

Updated Requirements for Blood Donors:
There are a number of criteria that pets need to meet to be a donor. For dogs, they can be blood type DEA 1.1 negative or positive, we need both.  They also need to be between 1-8 years old, over 50 pounds, healthy, tested negative for a list of potential infectious diseases, and ideally able to lie still for 10 minutes. Cats have similar requirements and need to be indoors.

We first go through a screening process to make sure your pet is a suitable donor.  That  includes a general health exam by one of our internists, and then a series of blood tests. These are to assess general health as well as screen for any infectious disease that could be transmitted.  A pet can give blood every 8-12 weeks. These may be a combination of scheduled donations to provide samples to be banked or possibly on-call for emergency donations in the event of a blood shortage. All dogs and cats are sedated for blood donation.

We provide initial and follow up physical exams, initial blood screening and annual follow up lab work. If a donor is ever unlucky enough to need a transfusion themselves, we provide free blood products to them. We also provide a thank you local businesses gift card for each donation.  But most importantly, you and your pet get to help save a life.

You can call our main line (541-209-6960) to schedule an appointment with on of our internists to find out if your pet meets the requirements for blood donation.