Veterinarians in dire need of pet blood donations
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis animal hospital is raising awareness about the shortage of pet blood nationwide.
“There is need in the entire country. Everyday, we have hospitals call that need blood and there is a long back order list of hospitals waiting to receive blood,” said Kelly Robertson, managing Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at IndyVet Kelly Robertson.
IndyVet is a 24-hour emergency and specialty hospital located on the southside of Indianapolis. The facility can draw, store, and ship pet blood across the country. Donated blood can save a dog or cat that suffers trauma, but it can also be live saving for animals being treated for auto-immune deficiencies that attack red blood cells.
“While we are treating it and getting the body to stop the attack, we use blood to maintain them in the meantime,” said Robertson.
The donation process takes just a few minutes. Your pet can be sedated completely, or given a pill beforehand that can calm them.
“Our canine donors are between the ages of 1 and 8 years old and they need to weigh 35 pounds. We do like them to be up to date on all of their vaccines.”
Dogs can donate every four weeks and cats can donate every six to eight weeks. Like humans, dogs and cats have different blood types. A typical blood draw from one dog can save the lives of four dogs.