Each year, more than 400 pets are treated with blood transfusions at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Hospital alone.
At Welgelegen Animal Clinic we have our own blood donor programme. We currently have 6 blood donor heros as part of our programme:
- Our handsome Ridgeback boy – Etosha
- Our lovable Lab – Buddy
- Our elegant Greyhound boy – Tilo
- Our dainty Dalmation lady – Ashley
- Our butch Boerboel boy – Boesman
- Our gentle Boerboel lady – Roxy
Animals require transfusions for a number of reasons, such as serious injury due to accidents, fights or attacks from other animals, as well when contracting diseases such as biliary which breaks down red blood cells or ingestion of rat/mouse poison where animals bleed out into a body cavity.
Our donor heros can donate blood every 12 weeks. The procedure is very safe and risks are low. However, blood cannot be transfused between different species, but different races within a species can receive each other’s blood. The donation procedure itself takes about 30 minutes.