No abstract

RBC transfusions resulted in an increase in PCV in cats with all causes of anemia in this study. The rate of death was greater than in cats that did not receive transfusions, but seriousness of the underlying disease in the 2 groups may not be comparable. Death rate of cats that received transfusions was not attributable to a high rate of transfusion reactions. Results confirm that pretransfusion blood typing or crossmatching is required to minimize the risk of adverse reactions.

Thousands of blood transfusions are performed each year on dogs and cats, and the demand for blood products continues to grow. Risks associated with transfusions include the risk of disease transmission. Appropriate screening of blood donors for bloodborne infectious disease agents should be performed to lessen this risk. Geographic restrictions of disease, breed predilection, and documentation of actual disease transmission by transfusion all are factors that might need to be considered when making a decision on what screening program to use. In addition, factors involving general health care and management of blood donors should be employed to further ensure blood safety.

Thousands of blood transfusions are performed each year on dogs and cats, and the demand for blood products continues to grow. Risks associated with transfusions include the risk of disease transmission. Appropriate screening of blood donors for bloodborne infectious disease agents should be performed to lessen this risk. Geographic restrictions of disease, breed predilection, and documentation of actual disease transmission by transfusion all are factors that might need to be considered when making a decision on what screening program to use. In addition, factors involving general health care and management of blood donors should be employed to further ensure blood safety.

In recent years, blood-component therapy has become more accessible in veterinary practice. As with human medicine, care must be taken to minimize the risk of disease transmission from donor to recipient. Determining the appropriate diseases to screen for is complicated by regional variations in disease incidence, the existence of chronic carrier states for some diseases, the difficulty in screening-test selection, and testing cost. The feline diseases considered include retroviral infections, feline coronaviruses, ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis-like), anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilum), neorickettsiosis (Neorickettsia risticii), hemoplasmosis (Mycoplasma hemofelis and M. hemominutum, previously feline hemobartonellosis), and cytauxzoonosis (Cytauxzoon felis). The canine diseases considered in this paper include babesiosis (Babesia canis and B. gibsonii,) ehrlichiosis (E. canis and E. ewingii), anaplasmosis (A. phagocytophilum), neorickettsiosis (N. risticii var. atypicalis), leishmaniasis (Leishmania donovani complex), brucellosis (Brucella canis), hemoplasmosis (M. hemocanis, previously canine hemobartonellosis), and bartonellosis (Bartonella vinsonii).