Pet Blood Donation

Did you know your pet can donate blood to save another pet’s life? Similar to humans, a pet can donate its blood to other pets who have different types of diseases or complications. Most small veterinarian clinics do not offer this service, but large clinics or veterinary schools do. According to PetMD, your pet may be rewarded with free pet food, routine physical examinations, blood work monitoring, and potentially free heartworm preventative. This is a great way to get a “free” routine screening for your pet. However, you may have to commit your pet to donating 4-6 times a year. PetMD contributor, Dr. Justine Lee, has come up with a list for the perfect donor candidate for both dogs and cats.

Perfect Dog Donor:

• Between 1-7 years of age
• Good-natured (like greyhounds!)
• More than 50 pounds (in lean body weight)
• Healthy
• Up to date on vaccines
• Not on any medication (other than flea, tick, and heartworm preventative)
• Never received a transfusion before

Perfect Cat Donor:

• Between 2-7 years of age
• Healthy
• Current on vaccines
• More than 10 pounds (in lean body weight!)
• Not on any medications (other than heartworm, flea, and tick preventative)
• Indoor only (and that includes all the companion housemate cats, too)
• Feline leukemia (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) negative
• Never been previously bred
• Never been previously transfused

Having your pet be a blood donor can be extremely rewarding and help save the life of someone else’s beloved pet!