Dogs used to die from blood loss. Now there is a dog blood donor program in Seattle. ACCES Blood Bank (Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services) specializes in providing the Seattle dog community with state-of-the-art medical care.
Many dogs owe their lives to ACCES. This service provides blood for health emergencies, trauma and serious illness in dogs--much like human blood banks do for humans.
Last year, the blood bank provided over 300 blood transfusions to save sick dogs from illness or death.
By becoming a blood donor, your dog can be a part of needed blood transfusions, providing help for other dogs in precarious health situations.
To volunteer your dog, you first bring him in as a potential donor. He is then given a quick blood test to determine if he is a good candidate. If he is, a 30-minute appointment is set up for the dog to come back and donate the blood.
About 2 cups of blood are drawn from the dogs. Red blood cells only last six weeks, which means there's a constant need for donations. Only healthy dogs that are older than 1 year old and younger than 5 years old can become blood donors. And only medium-to-large dog breeds can donate.
The dog must be well-behaved and sit quietly during the ten minutes it takes to draw the blood.
When finished, the dog is given treats, hugs and praise and a free toy to take home with him.
Because it costs a lot for the blood screening, dogs are encouraged to donate more than once. ACCES asks that dogs be committed to donating blood 12 times over a period of three years, with one blood draw every four months.
ACCES is located at 11536 Lake City Way NE, Seattle WA 98125, and can be reached by telephone 24 hours a day at 206-364-1660, or by email at: blood@criticalcarevets.com.
Comments