Blood for treats - Dogs give blood at university

QUAKERTOWN, Pa. - Sport, an energetic English springer spaniel, bounced onto the University of Pennsylvania's canine bloodmobile, his ears flopping.

Like Pavlov's dogs, experience had taught him to expect a treat and he was already looking for it.

"I swear he knows," said Elaine Gorman, who brought Sport to the blood drive at a school in Bucks County, about 40 miles from Philadelphia. "He sees the bus and he knows he's going to get a treat."

The dog-only bloodmobile is the only one of its kind in the nation, officials at the Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine say. The bus travels to blood drives organized by breeders, dog clubs, veterinarians and others in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland to get blood for its well-known veterinary hospital.

"We can't ask the dog for the donation, but we most certainly will not force any dog to donate blood," said Urs Giger, head of the veterinary school's transfusion medical program. "In other words, these dogs are good-tempered dogs that are not stressed by the procedure."

Sport, who made his ninth visit to the Penn Animal Bloodmobile on Tuesday, didn't seem stressed as he lay on a metal table so a veterinary technician could shave a patch of his fur and draw a pint of blood from a jugular vein.

Canine surgeries up

The number of pets donating blood has increased, but transfusions also are on the rise, partly because more people are opting to have their dogs undergo lifesaving surgery, said Wendy Hatchett, a veterinary technician.

"For the last 1 1/2 years, we haven't had enough because more people are using it," said Hatchett, who spoke sweetly to Sport on Tuesday as she slid a needle into his neck. "Now, blood transfusions are becoming more and more common all around the country."

Dogs are tested the first time they donate and those with blood that can't be universally transfused are turned away. The bloodmobile doesn't allow cats, because they need to be anesthetized to draw blood, Hatchett said.

The blood - taken from a jugular because it is a large vein and can withstand the pressure of a suction pump - will be deposited in the Penn Animal Blood Bank, which has about 1,000 active donors and is the largest voluntary canine blood donor program in the country.

The blood is used mainly at the University of Pennsylvania, which does about 10 transfusions each day. In some cases, the blood is separated into products that treat diseases and disorders.

One of the bonuses for owners who bring a dog to the bloodmobile is the promise of free blood from the blood bank. The blood usually costs about $100 a pint, Hatchett said.

Susan Watts talked directly to her boxer about the other animals she might be saving.

"Just relax. Just key down," she told Penny, a black-and-tan 3-year-old who panted heavily as blood flowed from her neck. "You're going to help so many other dogs."