blood transfusion

1. Blood transfusion in
animals
Dr Vinodh Kumar O.R
Senior Scientist
ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute
Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh

2. Introduction
 Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or
blood products into one's circulation intravenously.
 Used for various medical conditions to replace lost
components of the blood.
 Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern
medical practice commonly uses only components of
the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells,
plasma, clotting factors, and platelets.
 A blood typing refers to the presence, absence or
variation of chemicals/antigens on the surface of red
blood cells.

3. Indications/ conditions need
blood tansfusion
 acute hemolysis or hemorrhage;
 acute or chronic anemias
 hemostatic disorders
 The decision to transfuse RBCs is
determined by clinical signs, not by any
pre-selected PCV.

4. Few conditions need transfusion
 Autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
 Surgery.
 Babesiosis.
 Theleriosis.
 Anaplasmosis.
 Blood poisoning.
 Abomasal ulcer.
 Pulmonary Hemorrhages.

5. Canine blood groups
 Over 13 canine blood groups have been described.
 Dogs are routinely typed only for the most potent antigen, DEA
1.1
 Eight DEA (dog erythrocyte antigen) and Dal types are
recognized as international standards.
 DEA 4 and DEA 6 appear on the red blood cells of ~98% of dogs.
 Dogs with only DEA 4 or DEA 6 can thus serve as blood donors
for the majority of the canine population.
 Dogs that are DEA 1.1 positive (33 to 45% of the population) are
universal recipients.
 Dogs that are DEA 1.1 negative are universal donors.
 Blood from DEA 1.1 positive dogs should never be transfused
into DEA 1.1 negative dogs.

6. Feline blood groups
 The most common are A, B, or AB.
 Type A and B cats have naturally occurring
alloantibodies to the opposite blood type.
 The reaction of Type B cats to Type A blood is more
severe than vice versa.
 Simple blood typing test done to determine their
blood type prior to a transfusion or breeding to
avoid the haemolytic disease

7. Equine blood groups
 Eight major recognized blood groups in horses.
Seven of them, A, C, D, K, P, Q, and U, are
internationally recognized.
 Each blood group has at least two allelic factors
(for example, the A blood group has a, b, c, d, e,
f, and g), which can be combined in all
combinations (Aa, Afg, Abedg, etc.), to make
many different alleles.
 horses do not naturally produce antibodies against
red blood cell antigens that they do not possess.
 Universal donors are Aa, Ca, and Qa negative

8. Bovine blood groups
 A, B, C, F, J, L, M, S, and Z
 Clinically important are B and J.

9. Cross-matching
 Crossmatch detects the presence of pre-
existing antibodies that
produce and immediate hemolytic reaction
 Major match
 Minor match

10. Cross matching

11. Blood collection sites

12. Donor Selection
 Free from blood transmitted diseases as
anaplasmosis, equine infectious anemia
etc.
 No history of blood transfusion or
pregnancy.
 Age 1-8 years.
 Genetically related or of same breed.

13. Materials needed for blood
transfusion

14. Dose/volume calculation
 Whole blood:
• 2-3ml/kg of whole blood will raise the PCV by 1%.
 For Dogs:
Donor blood = 80 * Body weight * (Desired PCV- Recipient
PCV/PCV transfused blood)
 For Cats:
Donor blood = 60 * Body weight * (Desired PCV- Recipient PCV/PCV
transfused blood)
 Packed RBCs:
• 1ml/kg of PRBCs will raise the PCV 1%
 Plasma:
• 45ml/kg will raise the albumin 1g/dL.
For clotting factor replacement estimated dosage is: 10-30ml/kg.

15. Blood transfusion procedure
 Verify the expiry date as well as the donor species and blood type.
 Visual inspection to detect any macroscopic abnormalities in color and
consistency.
 Attach the blood transfusion administration set to the blood unit.
 Use a catheter with the largest available diameter.
 Carefully monitor the physiologic parameters and adverse reactions,
including fever, hypotension, urticaria, pruritus, vomiting and shivering.
 Record baseline vital signs before starting the transfusion, then for
15min for the first 45 minutes and for 30min until the end of the
transfusion.
 The initial infusion rate should be approximately 0.25 mL/kg for the first
30 minutes, after which the rate can be increased if no reactions are
seen. The entire
volume should be administered within 4 hours to prevent functional loss
or bacterial growth.
 Check packed cell volume (PCV) 1 to 6 hours after transfusion.

16. Complications of blood
transfusion