The Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Virginia Tech is looking for dog and cat owners to help donate. Just as humans sometimes need blood transfusions for medical care, and that requires blood donations, animals occasionally require blood transfusions too.
“It could be during a surgical procedure, it could be because they’ve sustained some kind of an injury or been hit by a car, something like that, and so they need blood transfusions,” said Anthony Grafsky, administrator at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. He said their program is in need of more animals to participate in the blood donor program, in part because they’ve had some animals age out of the program or move away in recent years.
They’re looking for pet owners of cats or dogs that can travel to Blacksburg a few times a year, with their pet.
“We’re looking for dogs male or female, one-eight years old.”
Dogs must be at least 55 pounds. Cats should also be 1-8 years old and 11 pounds. Cats must be indoor only, to reduce the likelihood that they could have a disease.
Animals get free regular health screenings and blood tests.
“The animals in some case will also get free preventative, like flea and tick, heartworm medications,” said Grafsky.
The veterinary hospital currently has 21 animals enrolled in the program. They are in need of 20 more. For more information, email the Veterinary Teaching Hospital blood bank or fill out a pre-screening form online.
