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Doggy donor services looking for new blood
Animal blood bank short of supplies

Misty Harris, CanWest News Service
Published: Tuesday, October 24, 2006

The day before Lucky Boy was headed to that big, off-leash park in the sky, the condemned pound puppy was spared thanks to an 11th-hour adoption. Six years later, the lovable Labrador retriever is repaying his life debt by making regular blood donations that help save fellow four-legged friends in jeopardy.

The scarcity of canine blood in Canada is such that a one-unit donation is typically packed, shipped and used within 48 hours. In some cities, the shortage has led vets to use their own family pets as regular donors just to keep up with demand.

Although six-time donor Lucky Boy is doing his part, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Animal Blood Bank says the need for awareness among pet owners is critical.

"Nobody thinks about it," says Beth Knight, lab director of the CABB. "We've tried different marketing venues, but they just don't come back with a good response."

The Winnipeg-based CABB, working in conjunction with a satellite collection station in Edmonton, seeks out donor dogs one to eight years old, more than 50 pounds, and in good physical condition. Much like human blood donations, appointments take about 15 minutes and are rewarded with cookies -- the doggie variety, of course.

Although more than a dozen different canine blood types have been identified, Knight says all dogs are either DEA (Dog Erythrocyte Antigens) 1.1 negative -- considered a universal donor -- or DEA 1.1 positive.

"As many as four different dogs can be treated with products generated from one donation," says Knight. "As for the donor owners, they're a very diverse group of people . . . but the genuine interest in helping others is always an underlying theme for all of them."

That's certainly the case for Mieko Hino, who adopted Lucky Boy. This week, the 60-year-old Vancouver woman is being honoured by Canadian Blood Services for having donated more than 100 units of blood and platelets -- a contribution placing her in the top 0.06 per cent of female donors nationwide.

Hino, a Japanese immigrant whose father was a doctor and grandfather a member of the Red Cross, says blood donations are her way of expressing appreciation for everything Canada has given her family. Lucky Boy is simply carrying on the tradition.

"Generally, we find the sort of people who donate blood have either had a blood transfusion themselves or know someone whose life or health was helped by a blood transfusion," says Dr. Graham Sher, CEOof Canadian Blood Services. "But a lot of folks donate blood simply because they think it's the right thing to do."

At present, there are about 455,000 active human blood donors in Canada. By comparison, the CABB has a donor database of just 300 dogs, about 100 of which are frequent contributors. LifeStream Animal Blood Bank in Kingston, Ont., has attracted 150 donor dogs in its two years of operation, while independent collection services like the one at the Vancouver Animal Emergency Clinic tend to have 40 to 45 regular donors.

Once pet owners are made aware of the process, LifeStream's Sandra Powell says, keeping them coming back is rarely a problem. "It's remarkable. They return with their dogs every three months to donate. They call us to set up appointments before we even get the chance to call to remind them."
© The Vancouver Sun 2006