The mission of the Animal Blood Bank of Hawaii is to contribute to the medical care of dogs and cats by creating and maintaining a community blood donation program aimed to supply safe, humane and reliable blood products to veterinary hospitals in Hawaii.
Animal Blood Bank of Hawaii was created by VERC Hawaii’s Dr. Sara Crispell and her colleague Dr. Matthew Cenal.
Each year, thousands of animals’ lives are saved by blood donations. The need for blood products is just as important in veterinary medicine as it is in human medicine. Pets with traumatic injuries and some medical conditions may require blood transfusions, and as with humans, it’s important to match the blood type and species from which the blood is derived.
Enrolling your healthy dog or cat in a blood donor program can make a big difference to another pet in need.
Donor Eligibility Qualifications:
In order to qualify pets must be in good health, be current on all vaccines, and meet the following criteria. An ideal pet owner would be someone who enjoys helping animals and is committed to being available for donations when the need arises.
Canine Donors:
- Overall good health, happy to do it, and easy to handle
- Between the ages of one and eight years
- A healthy weight of over 50 lbs
- Has a friendly disposition
Feline Donors:
- Overall good health, happy to do it, and easy to handle
- Between the ages of one and ten years
- A healthy weight of over 10 lbs
- Has a friendly disposition
- Indoor only and from a household with fewer than five cats.
For more information, or to register your pet for blood donation, please visit Animal Blood Bank of Hawaii.
Animals Donating Blood Really is a Thing!
LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES FOR YOUR SPECIAL PET TO BE A HERO!
Drs. Krista Vernaleken and Lindsay Renzullo of Bulger Veterinary Hospital in Lawrence, MA recently discussed the subject of donating blood for dogs and cats in an episode of the PAWEDcast. More episodes, and the complete episode (which answers frequent pet owner questions) is available on our PAWEDcast landing page. The PAWEDcast is available on youtube, and where ever you listen to podcasts.