ACVIM issues blood donor screening statement
The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine published a consensus statement to help veterinarians prevent the transfer of blood-borne infectious diseases during blood transfusions to dogs and cats. The statement highlights procedures, such as donor selection and blood collection techniques, which may be done before the blood transfusion to ensure the safety of the donor and recipient. It was published in the January/February edition of the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
"The consensus statement is intended to eliminate previous guesswork by setting as many facts in place about donor animal testing as possible," said Dr. K. Jane Wardrop, head author of the veterinary group that developed the statement.
For a copy of the statement, "Canine and Feline Blood Donor Screening for Infectious Disease," log on to www.acvim.org/wwwfp/ConsensusStmts/Blood%20Donor.pdf.