The increasing demand for blood products

There is a significant short of blood products for veterinary use, according to Meghan Respess, DVM, DACVECC, a veterinary criticalist and national director of blood banking for BluePearl Pet Hospital. In a dvm360 interview, Respess discusses the need for an increase in pet blood donations and blood banking programs, and some reasons why the need for blood products is growing.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Meghan Respess, DVM, DACVECC: I've been a criticalist for over a decade. So in my realm of ICU and emergency medicine, I've always seen the need for blood transfusions in pets, whether it be trauma, cancers, chronic illnesses, and many toxicities. Many pets present with the need of blood. And that's always been my realm.

There is a massive shortage of blood products in the veterinary world, similar to people. And although it's been going on for quite some time, the need has been even more pressing in recent years, and a large part of that is because more people seek emergency and specialty care than previously and, so, getting donors in will help us grow our own programs, same with any other private hospital. Many hospitals have their own programs, but bringing in and expanding our own donor pools through the voluntary community also helps mitigate the pressure on commercial blood banks as well as other private veterinary hospitals that have donors of their own.

The trend towards more pets being part of the family and the seeking of more specialized veterinary care, as well as the advances we've seen in veterinary medicine over the last decade plus has really highlighted the need for blood and blood products and utilizing them appropriately and responsibly. And also creating more products, which, again, there is a significant shortage, and there's a lot of pressure on commercial blood banks, as well as smaller blood donor pools and their own private hospitals.