AM25-TU-21-L - Veterinary Transfusion Medicine: An Overview of Blood Banking for Our Furry Friends

Proposed Session Description: Animals need transfusions too! This session will provide an overview of veterinary transfusion medicine (TM) and compare it to the human form. We will describe the system of veterinary blood banks and summarize donor operations such as donor screening for eligibility and suitability, product collection, testing, processing, and storage. Next, we will explore laboratory and transfusion service topics such as immunohematology, blood groups, universal donors, and pre-transfusion testing, primarily among dogs and cats but also touching on other species such as birds, small mammals, and farm animals. Finally, we will consider transfusion practices and safety, including common indications for and complications of transfusions.

Since most attendees will be knowledgeable about human TM but not veterinary medicine, we will use a question-and-answer format to build upon their knowledge and compare and contrast the fields. For example, "For humans, we screen donors with the donor history questionnaire asking about their health and high-risk activities, as well as a brief physical exam. How do you screen animals to determine whether they are eligible and safe to donate?” "For humans, the ABO blood group system is the most clinically significant, and group O is the universal donor for RBCs. How are animal blood group systems different, and what are the universal donor products?"

We will seek to draw connections between human and veterinary TM. For example, the practice of veterinary TM often faces limitations in resources, including cost and donor availability, and has potential implications for the practice of human TM in resource-limited settings.