4 Dec 2019
Xenotransfusion buys time to find perfect blood match for four-week old kitten from its own species.
Vet Times
Job Title
Ellie was suffering from severe anaemia when she was presented at Vets Now in Gateshead. Image © Vets Now
A four-week-old kitten, described as “on the brink of death”, has been saved by an emergency blood transfusion from a donor dog.
The xenotransfusion kept Ellie, a kitten weighing just 10oz, alive for “several days” – long enough for a matching feline donor to be located and a successful transfusion from her own species to be made.
Emergency vets and VNs at Vets Now in Gateshead were forced to act after a Ellie presented with no red cells and white gums.
With no suitable feline blood available, VN Helen Spry saved the day – not only by administering the transfusion, but by allowing her own dog, Bella, to act as the blood donor.
Sara Jackson, district clinical lead for the Vets Now Gateshead clinic, said: “Ellie was suffering from severe anaemia. Blood transfusions between two species are not common, but if we didn’t do it, she would have died – so we had nothing to lose.
“Although the xenotransfusion kept her going for several days, it wasn’t enough and she deteriorated again, and we needed to organise a feline blood donor.”
Maureen Franklin, founder of the New Beginnings Cat Rehoming charity, put out an urgent call to her charity’s 6,000 followers and a “perfect match” donor was found “in the nick of time”.
