Signalment and Blood Types in Cats Being Evaluated as Blood Donors at Two Italian University Blood Banks

Abstract

Data from potential feline blood donors presented at two university blood banks in Italy were recorded. Blood typing was performed using an immunochromatographic method. Over the three years of the study 357 cats representing 15 breeds, 45.3% female and 54.7% male, with a mean age of 3.8 years were evaluated. Of these 90.5% were blood type A, 5.6% type B, and 3.9% type AB. The majority of the cats (54.6%) were European DSH (92.3% were type A, 5.1% type B, and 2.6% type AB), and 21% were Maine Coon (MCO) cats (100% blood type A). The estimated frequencies of transfusion reactions following an unmatched transfusion between DSH (donors and recipients), MCO (donor and recipients), DSH donors and MCO recipients, and MCO donors and DSH recipients were 4.8%, 0%, 0%, and 5.1% for major reactions and 7.2%, 0%, 7.7%, and 0% for minor transfusions reactions, respectively. In a population of blood donors that includes DSH and MCO the risk of transfusion reaction is between 5% and 8% if typing is not performed on donor and recipient blood. Blood typing should therefore be performed before transfusion to remove the risk of transfusion reactions due to blood type incompatibilities.

Frequency of Blood Types A, B and AB in a Population of Non-Pedigree Domestic Cats from Central Italy

“…To the author’s knowledge, this result is similar to that reported in most other studies with the exception of Portugal, Germany, and UK where a frequency of 6.3%, 7.4%, and 8.5% in mixed breed cats was reported, respectively [ 8 , 17 , 25 ]. Furthermore, the results reported in the present study are similar to those blood types found in feline populations tested in other areas of Italy, with the exception of type AB group [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

“…As reported in Table 1 , in this survey the frequency of type B in the feline population is higher (7.0%) compared to most other European studies (i.e., Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Iberian Peninsula, Switzerland, and UK) [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 10 , 11 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 21 ] and is comparable to those of four studies conducted in Northern Italy, where about a total of 600 European domestic shorthair cats were enrolled [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Instead, Giger et al and Spada et al reported a high prevalence of blood type B in Central (11.2% in Tuscany region) and Southern Italy (12.1% in Sicily), respectively [ 5 , 16 ].…”

“…The frequency of blood types in cats varies geographically and within breeds. Several international studies show that type A is the most common blood type in non-pedigree cat populations in different European countries [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. On the other hand, it has been seen that Type B and the rare type AB has a high incidence in some feline pure breeds and no incidence in other breeds [ 8 , 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

“…Studies to determine the frequency of blood groups in domestic cats in Italy produced similar results to those reported in the international literature, with type A overrepresented in the feline population. However, these studies describe mainly feline populations from Northern Italy, whereas data on blood types frequency in cats from Central and Southern Italy are limited [ 5 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

Domestic cats blood types frequency from Pará state, Brazil

“…Em gatos o grupo sanguíneo AB é constituído por três tipos sanguíneos denominados A, B e AB (Spada et al, 2014). Porém, Weinstein et al (2007), detectaram a existência de outro fator sanguíneo, denominado "fator Mik".…”