Many people at one time have donated blood to Canadian Blood Services, it is something that is talked about on many different platforms with donation clinics running frequently throughout the year, however, what a lot of pet owners may not know is that there is a Canadian Animal Blood Bank (CABB) as well.

The Canadian Animal Blood Bank has been in operation since 1996 solely in Winnipeg, since then the team has expanded and now runs donation clinics in four provinces across Canada including Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.

Strathmore resident Jodie Hardy and her 6 1/2-year-old dog Taylor recently took part in a CABB clinic at the Langdon Vet Clinic, "I found about it from a friend who works at the Strathmore Vet Clinic who mentioned it, so word of mouth was how I found out."

There are certain criteria that the dogs need to meet in order to qualify to donate and the process for this Hardy said was very straight forward, "You call and make an appointment at the Langdon Vet Clinic, they draw blood and make sure you can donate and there is a criteria for age and weight." 

The actual donation appointments are a bit different right now as owners are not allowed to accompany their pets into the clinic at this time. Hardy explained as for her dog Taylor this was not a hurdle, "Taylor loves going to the vet she thinks it is all about treats, she was excited when they came out and put a leash on her. I was told her tail wagged through the whole procedure which from start to finish was about 20 minutes." Taylor received her red bandana for donating and was all smiles when she left the clinic.

2021_Taylor - photo credit Sadie Lanthier.jpg

According to CABB the donated blood does have a limited shelf life and the supply currently needs to be replenished on a weekly basis, with the blood products primarily being used for:

  • Cancer Therapy Support
  • Rat Poison Toxicity
  • Anemia, Parvovirus infections, and Von Willebrand’s disease
  • Surgery and times of trauma
  • Immune-Mediated Diseases

There are criteria that include weight over 55 lbs (25kg), up to date vaccines and proof of titers, age between 1-8 years, docile temperament, and being in good health as deemed by your primary care veterinarian, and CABB does note if it is something that a pet owner is interested in they should always talk with their primary care veterinarian prior to donating.

Like humans, dogs have blood types too, CABB is most concerned with two blood groups, Dog Erythrocyte Antigen (DEA) 1 Positive and Negative. About 30% of the canine population is negative and they are considered a universal donor.

In the Calgary area, there is a need for more universal donors and those breeds are Airedale Terrier, American Bulldog, Boxer, Bulldog, Doberman, Dogue de Bordeaux, English Bull Terrier, Greyhound, German Shepherd, German Shorthaired Pointer, Great Pyrenees, Irish Wolfhound, Lurcher, Newfoundland, Old English Sheep Dog, Pitbull, Siberian Husky, Standard Poodle, Weimaraner.

Dogs with universal blood (DEA 1 negative) types can give to any dog. They are exceptionally valuable in emergency situations. CABB equates them to O- donors on the human side.

Bobbie Deschamps, the Western Canada General Manager for CABB is looking forward to growing awareness as the clinics continue to be in need in the area, "We really started clinics in 2015 with a team from Winnipeg flying in twice a year, in 2018 was when our Unit Manager in Edmonton took over."

Langdon Vet Clinic joined the program during the start of COVID explains Deschamps, someone she knew who had visited a CABB clinic to donate before began to work in Langdon and helped to get them connected to start a clinic.

The goal for Deschamps is to ensure that the program does grow. It has seen some struggles during the last year operating through COVID, "Some vet clinics have had to cancel our donation clinics just due to restrictions and staffing, as well some owners have canceled appointments because they cannot go in with their dogs at this time."

Deschamps stressed that this is not normally the case, in normal operations the owner would go into the appointment with their pet. The most important part of this process for the CABB team is that the animals are relaxed and if at anytime the animal seems agitated or stressed Deschamps notes that they would stop any treatment and take the pet back to its owner.

CABB has an additional focus on providing education to ensure blood typing and cross-matching for all transfusions and in providing information to veterinarians and Veterinary technicians/Animal Health Technologists about transfusion medicine. Although the primary focus is canine blood collections, CABB does provide supplies and information for Veterinarians and Veterinary technicians/Animal Health Technologists for feline support as well.

To find out more information those interested in donating can email info@canadiananimalbloodbank.ca or visit our website at canadiananimalbloodbank.ca as well. As the demand for supply increases CABB is always looking to host new donation clinics and have more vet clinics join them so that they can host these clinics. For any veterinary clinic in Alberta that would like to become a part of the program, Bobbie Deschamps can be contacted at bobbie.deschamps@canadiananimalbloodbank.ca.

There's an upcoming clinic in Cochrane on Sunday, April 18, 2021 at Arrowhead Veterinary Centre.