How your pet can be a blood donor in France

Veterinarians are reminding people that their pets can also donate blood to help save the lives of injured cats and dogs. 

Donations are carried out across France and are particularly important during hunting season, when dogs are more likely to suffer injuries. 

“There is a crucial need for blood. We perform around six transfusions a month and blood can only be stored for a month,” Ludivine Boiron, head of the intensive care and emergency department at Montpellier’s CHV Languedocia veterinary hospital told The Connexion. 

“It is as important as humans giving blood and it does save pets’ lives,” she added. 

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How a pet can donate blood

Reasons for needing blood vary from injuries and falls to blood clotting disorders, spleen cancer and issues linked to anaemia, for example. 

To give blood, dogs must be between two and seven years old and weigh at least 20kg, while cats must be between one and eight and weigh more than 4kg. They must be healthy and have had all necessary vaccinations. 

First, you must sign up your pet to the blood bank group at your nearest CHV (veterinary hospital). When their blood is needed, you will receive a call to bring your cat or dog to the vet.

Then, if it is their first time giving blood, a full analysis of your pet’s health will be performed, determining their blood group, which works similarly to humans, and testing for certain viral or contagious illnesses or diseases. 

If everything is fine, the vets will collect between 250 and 450 millilitres of blood from dogs and between 45 and 50 millilitres from cats. 

The entire procedure, including the tests if it is their first time, takes around 90 minutes. If you sign your pet up, there will be a minimum four-month resting period between donations. 

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What are the risks?

“There are very few risks involved as the animals are healthy, although it is true that we cannot say there is zero risk. However, since we have started taking blood we have not had a single problem,” said Mrs Boiron. 

At CHV Languedocia, the pets are rewarded with a free packet of kibble from the nearby clinic, a frisbee and a little scarf saying that they gave blood. 

The breed of the pet does not really matter, but their blood group does. On receiving a first donation, a dog can receive from any other blood group, but from their second, more detailed research including a cross-match must be done to verify that they can receive the blood. 

“We still try to give the right blood type from the first donation, but sometimes we do not have a choice as we have limited supply,” Mrs Boiron said. 

Cats only have blood types A and B (only a very rare few are AB). A blood type B cat can only receive type B blood or they will die, because they have powerful antibodies against blood type A from birth. In dogs, this will only develop after a first transfusion.