JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — January is National Blood Donor month and just like humans, pets need blood too.
A blood transfusion can save the life of a pet, especially if they get sick or hurt.
Dr. Ralph Sevelius is the owner of Northside Animal Hospital. Each day he takes his dog Ynah to work.
As a veterinarian for the last 45 years, he tells us when it comes to blood donations for pets, there are not a lot of blood banks in Florida.
According to UF Health’s Small Animal Hospital College of Veterinary Medicine, the demand for blood products increases every year and so does the need for volunteer donors.
"One of the biggest instances that we see the need for a blood transfusion in a dog is dogs that are hit by cars. and dogs that are in fights also," he said.
Sevelius’ clinic does blood transfusions.
“You have a bottle, that’s a pint, it has a vacuum in it and you put a big needle in and and you got a huge needle that you stick in the donor dog and then you collect the pint of blood and then you hang it up and give it to the recipient,” Sevelius said.
Dog have different blood types, too, and can be classified as positive or negative blood types.
Veterinarians say before a dog becomes a volunteer donor it needs to undergo a physical exam and blood test to make sure it can safely donate blood.