Your Pet Can Help Save a Life, as a Blood Donor

A healthy dog gets hit by a car. Surgery can fix his leg and internal injury, but even after a hard fight he just could not survive the loss of blood. Humans have had the advantage of being able to receive transfusions for a long time but your furry family member hasn't had always had the same chances. If you found a veterinary hospital they may offer to use blood from their own animals or even pets for transfusions but many places have not had access to blood and your precious pet would die.

One of the first few places to establish a blood collection program from furry donors to create a blood bank for dogs was The US Davis animal blood bank. They have screened and established hundreds of donors and are one of the larger programs. In recent years several centers have created mobile units that go out to other areas including dog events to make donating more convenient.

Normally veterinary hospitals keep donor dogs at the facility to take blood from over and over for a few years and then offer them for adoption. This new program is more humane and the blood is collected from healthy dogs. The animal donors are usually required to be between the ages of 1 and 8 and over 50 pounds and have never been pregnant. Cats have three blood types A, B, and AB much like a human, but unlike us, dogs have 13 different blood types, and about 1 dog in every 15 is a universal donor.

Felines must be indoor pets with no exposure to outdoor felines, at least 10 pounds, be healthy and between 1 and 9 and have never been pregnant.

Not all donation centers will work with felines because the expenses for their tests are much higher than dogs. When a dog is brought in to donate, they are given health checks and tests that are about a 300 dollar value for free since they are donating and the visit lasts about an hour, subsequent visits are about ½ hour every two to three months.

If you are interested in donating, look for donor sites in your area. There are links below that have more information and donation locations.

Animal Blood Bank P.O. Box 1118, Dixon, California 95620
Toll Free: 800-243-5759 Office: 707-678-7350 Fax: 707-678-7357
Email: info@animalbloodbank.com
http://www.animalbloodbank.com/contact.html

Animal Blood Resources International 4983 Bird Drive, Stockbridge, Michigan 49285
Toll Free: 877-517-MABS Office: 517-851-8244 Fax: 517-851-7762
Website: http://www.midwestabs.com/index.htm

Hemopet 11561 Selinaz Ave, Garden Grove, California 92843 Phone 714-891-2022. Fax 714-891-2123 Email: Hemopet@hotmail.com Website: http://www.hemopet.org/contact.html

Sun States Blood Bank For Animals 2509 N Campbell Ave #304, Tucson, AZ 85719
Telephone (520) 303-1802 Email: Admin@sunstates.org
Website: http://www.sunstates.org/contact.htm

Rocky Mountain Blood Services 17701 Cottonwood Drive Office 2, Parker, Colorado 80134 Phone 719-522-3227 Website: http://rockymountainbloodservices.com

Eastern Veterinary Blood Bank 844 Ritchie Highway, Suite 204 Severna Park, MD 21146. Website: http://www.evbb.com/

The Pet Blood Bank. Blood drives through out central Texas.
Phone: (800) 906-7059, Fax: (512) 267-8860.
Email: Info@CanineBloodBank.com.
http://www.petshelpingpets.com/index.htm

Sun States Animal Blood Bank 2927 NE 6th Ave
Wilton Manors, FL 33334-2606 Phone: (954) 630-2231‎
Website: http://www.sunstates.org/Animal Blood Bank, Inc.
1-800-243-5759/1-707-678-735
http://www.animalbloodbank.com/index.html

Michigan State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital
517-432-4546
http://cvm.msu.edu/hospital/special-facilities/blood-donor-program/become-a-donor/feline-blood-donors

University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center
612-626-VETS (8387) 1365 Gortner Ave. St. Paul, MN 55108

UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital

Canine Blood Bank of Central Iowa

Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine

Veterinary Teaching Hospital at North Carolina State Universityhttp://www.onlyforpetlovers.com/articles/entry/Donate-Blood-Save-an-Animal-Life