FELINE AND CANINE
BLOOD BANK
Departments > Blood Bank
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| About Our In-House Donor Blood Bank |
| Over the years, we have made many
changes to our hospital to accommodate the changing face of veterinary
medicine. We have greatly expanded our staff and added board
certified specialists, invested in state-of-the-art medical,
surgical, and laboratory equipment, and expanded our pharmacy
inventory. |
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Established in 1998 in an effort to guarantee a constant
supply of canine and feline blood and plasma units for our
in hospital patients |
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Prior to 1998, we had to rely on the national
Animal Blood Bank to supply our blood needs and we were not always
able to have adequate amounts of blood on hand for emergencies |
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After extensive research, a blood
donor program was developed |
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Necessary equipment was obtained including collection & administration
systems and a specialized blood centrifuge for separating blood
cell and plasma fractions |
| Countless Patient's Lives Have Been
Saved With Blood/Plasma Transfusions |
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Pets (usually dogs) that have ingested
Rat Poison |
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Pets with extensive trauma and blood loss- usually after
being hit by a vehicle |
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Pets suffering from autoimmune hemolytic diseases |
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Cats with advanced Feline Leukemia |
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Kittens & puppies with severe
anemia due to flea infestation |
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Pets (usually cats) in chronic renal
(kidney) failure |
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Dogs with Von Willebrants disease
or Hemophilia (genetic disorders) |
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AND COUNTLESS other situations |
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Three of our Veterinary
Technicians Run the Blood Bank |
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Christina Lipofsky, CVT
Lauren Havrylik, CVT
Nikki Crawford |
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Recruit and screen new donors |
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Set up a schedule for blood drawing |
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Draw and process the blood |
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Teach the rest of our staff on how to administer and
monitor blood and plasma transfusions |
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Thanks to Nikki, Lauren,
Christina and of course our donors, we have at least 2 units
each of negative and positive dog blood, and during busy months
a unit of feline whole blood on hand at all times |
