Animal hospital with dog blood for transfusion

[Guderian]

My poor little dog has just been diagnosed with anemia caused by a parasite on her kidneys, probably the result of a tick bite. The vet will try and fix it with medication but if that fails then the only way to save her is a blood transfusion. The vet tells me that there's nowhere in Thailand that carries a stock of dog blood for transfusion. I live in Pattaya and don't care if I have to go to Bangkok to get the blood. Does anybody know of a pet hospital or clinic that has a stock of blood or can procure around 500 ml of the appropriate blood type?

 

The vet said that you can buy blood from the internet but it never works so she told me not to bother.

 

Otherwise are there any animal charities that do this sort of work? Are there any animal hospitals in foreign countries that might be willing to ship blood to Thailand? Any other suggestions how to save my little friend?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

[Guderian]

Nobody?

[meatboy]

hi fellow dog lover,i can only recommend you give KASETSART VETINARY HOSPITAL BANGKOK.

not long ago we had to go to the one in KHON KAEN uni.as we werent satisfied with local vets.

their no.is 043-202283 or 0898612277 let the phone ring for quite awhile its very busy.

i am afraid that we are losing a lot of members on this forum who post in the pet section.

good luck and hope your loved one can beat this disease.

[Oxx]

The only dog blood bank that I know of in Thailand is at Kasetsart University.

 

http://vet.ku.ac.th/vetenglish/index.php/others/blood-bank

 

You could consider approaching a local dog rescue centre to see if they have a match.  (It's quite a common practice here.)

[Sheryl]

Yes, Kasetsart is best option.

[dick dasterdly]

I can only add that a lack of responses isn't because posters don't care - its because they don't have the necessary knowledge to reply.

 

I hope things work out well for your lovely dog. 

[Guderian]

 

6 hours ago, meatboy said:

hi fellow dog lover,i can only recommend you give KASETSART VETINARY HOSPITAL BANGKOK.

not long ago we had to go to the one in KHON KAEN uni.as we werent satisfied with local vets.

their no.is 043-202283 or 0898612277 let the phone ring for quite awhile its very busy.

i am afraid that we are losing a lot of members on this forum who post in the pet section.

good luck and hope your loved one can beat this disease.

 

5 hours ago, Oxx said:

The only dog blood bank that I know of in Thailand is at Kasetsart University.

 

http://vet.ku.ac.th/vetenglish/index.php/others/blood-bank

 

You could consider approaching a local dog rescue centre to see if they have a match.  (It's quite a common practice here.)

 

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Yes, Kasetsart is best option.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

Somebody on a local forum pointed out Kasetsart to me a few days ago. I immediately printed it out and took it to the vet but she said that while they have a dog blood bank they never actually have any blood  in it. Is she correct there, or being too negative?

 

Meanwhile the good news is that after three days on an IV drip they repeated the blood test and she's responding well to the medicine. You didn't really need a test to see that she's back to her old self, full of life and eating everything put down for her. She came off the IV line yesterday and I should be able to pick her up and take her home later this afternoon, and continue giving her the medicine orally myself.

 

So hopefully no transfusion will be needed this time, but I must admit that I was rather shocked that nobody has any dog blood stocks in Thailand. It just shows my ignorance, I guess, as it seems even Singapore, with all its money and orderly society, has difficulty maintaining an adequate supply.

 

 

 

[Oxx]

Really glad to hear that she's recovering well.  Hope she makes a full recovery.

 

I'm sure there are lots of people who'd like to donate their dogs' blood (myself included), but (a) there are strict rules about which dogs can and can't donate, and (b) the donation locations are simply not convenient.

 

When one of my dogs (the only one of the three that would be eligible to donate) had his last blood tests, I asked the vet to type the blood so that at least if someone asked I'd know if his blood were compatible.  The test didn't work for some reason.  (I'll be trying again.)  Anyway, I'd encourage all dog owners with dogs that can donate to get their dogs' blood types tested.  In an emergency they then may be able to save another dog's life.

[Sheryl]

So glad she is doing better. I have been through the same thing (also due to tick norne disease) and like yours the dog ultimately made it through without transfusion.

[Guderian]

Thanks for the replies and the good wishes, she's back home now. On Tuesday morning she was very weak having only nibbled at her food for three or four days and - the worst sign, as far as I was concerned, was that she'd stopped drinking the night before. Without expert help she'd be dead within a day, I reckoned. Amazing what medical science can do, thank Buddha!

 

I read that some Singapore animal hospitals have incentive programmes to encourage people to donate their dog's blood. This includes S$100 for a donation (around 2500 Baht), plus free emergency treatment and annual check-ups. It's a pity that the Thais can't get something like that together.

[meatboy]

thank the vet aswell,and that is coming from me who has had a guts full of local vets.

 

[Guderian]

21 hours ago, meatboy said:

thank the vet aswell,and that is coming from me who has had a guts full of local vets.

 

 

Yes indeed, it's just a small practice with two lady vets but it's close by my house which made it easy to drop by and see my dog three or four times a day. They kept her in a pen in the treatment room so they could keep a close eye on her and she loves having people around so it suited her well. I was indeed impressed that on Tuesday my dog was literally at death's door but a day later she was already up and about and barking at me. I'll recommend these vets to anybody, I live in South Pattaya so if anybody needs to know where the vet is located please drop me a message.

[Guderian]

Just as an afterthought, I've been using Frontline Plus on the dog monthly for flea and tick control for several years. It's difficult to get it fully in contact with her skin, though, as she has a very thick coat, so inevitably half of it just ends up soaking into her fur.

 

The vet knew the problem and gave me a new product, NexGard Spectra. This is a chewable tablet that kills ticks and also protects against heartworm. It's a bit more expensive than Frontline Plus at 1140 Baht for a box of three tablets, but at least there's no waste and I know she's got the full dose once she's swallowed it. Last night I noticed a dead tick on the bed near where the dog was lying, it wasn't bloated at all so hadn't managed to feast on any significant amount of blood, but it looks like the NexGard is working.