Blood collected from our canine and feline donors is used for a variety of different patient concerns. The Transfusion Medicine Service processes blood obtained from our donors into a variety of different components.

Separation of whole blood into its constituents allows for a more tailored approach of administering products based on our individual patient needs. It also allows for a longer storage time of blood products, minimising wastage of this vital resource.

The products we have available for our canine and feline patients include

• Fresh whole blood - used in patients requiring all of the components of blood to support them through their condition
• Packed red blood cells - used in patients that are anaemic and requiring only the red blood cell component of whole blood
• Fresh frozen plasma - used in patients with a wide range clotting problems
• Frozen plasma - used if patients require additional protein support or have been intoxicated with certain rodenticides
• Serum eye drops - used by our ophthalmology service to treat patients with corneal ulceration
• Cryoprecipitate - available for our canine patients suffering from haemophilia and other diseases preventing normal blood clotting.