In a quiet, calm area of the hospital, your pet lies down on a table covered in soft blankets while an assistant (or you) holds and talks with your pet while the unit of blood is collected. The actual process of donating blood is quite simple. It takes about 15-30 minutes and does not always require anesthesia. Most dogs do well with simple "paw holding", but high energy dogs and cats usually need some sedation, because kitties are far less likely to sit patiently for 15-20 minutes.
The area is usually clipped and cleaned and aseptically prepared before insertion of the needle. After preparing the area with a sterile scrub, blood is collected through a needle into a sterile collection set. Blood is taken from the jugular vein – the large vein that runs along the neck. A standard blood donation in the dog is 450ml (‘one canine unit’) and this can safely be obtained from a 25kg dog.
The area is usually clipped and cleaned and aseptically prepared before insertion of the needle. After preparing the area with a sterile scrub, blood is collected through a needle into a sterile collection set. Blood is taken from the jugular vein – the large vein that runs along the neck. A standard blood donation in the dog is 450ml (‘one canine unit’) and this can safely be obtained from a 25kg dog.
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