# Cross species donation



## Snuffles (21 November 2017)

There was an article in a certain paper today about a dog donating blood to make a serum to help a kittens eyesight. Is this possible ?


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## druid (21 November 2017)

Yes, not uncommon as cat blood donors are harder to come by than dogs


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## Aru (23 November 2017)

Its also possible that it was serum to make eyedrops if treating infection rather then a actual blood transfusion.


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## Alec Swan (23 November 2017)

Aru said:



			Its also possible that it was serum to make eyedrops if treating infection rather then a actual blood transfusion.
		
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We had a dog with Panis (sp? ulcerated eye balls) and the vet,  as you say made a serum from the dog's blood.  It was my understanding that the serum needed to be made from the dog's 'own' blood,  was I wrong and would any canine blood have been usable?

Initially there was some improvement but as soon as the treatment stopped she &#8212; a lurcher bitch,  when downhill again,  she was completely blind,  struggling with that and I put her down.

Alec.


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## Aru (23 November 2017)

Alec Swan said:



			We had a dog with Panis (sp? ulcerated eye balls) and the vet,  as you say made a serum from the dog's blood.  It was my understanding that the serum needed to be made from the dog's 'own' blood,  was I wrong and would any canine blood have been usable?

Initially there was some improvement but as soon as the treatment stopped she &#8212; a lurcher bitch,  when downhill again,  she was completely blind,  struggling with that and I put her down.

Alec.
		
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Pannus is different as its an immune system related disease so needs treatment for life.Generally immunosuppressive drugs or steriods.  Optimmune for one.
Serum from another dog wouldn't have helped in the long term,but it would have just helped with the damage and ulceration in the short-term. 
Eyes don't have a good surface blood supply so can be difficult to get to heal esp if theres infection present. Ulcers when infected with bacteria are an issue.Bacteria release components that start to melt the eye chemically-off the top of my head i thinks its protease and collagen breakdown components. Serum applied directly can help heal an ulcer as the immunomodulating parts of your serum can help combat the drugs the bacteria are releasing and reduce the damage. 
Its best from the same animal as its unlikley to produce a transfusion reaction or introduce any new issues....

A tiny sick kitten would be to small to take blood from so you use what you can if they are in danger of losing the eye.
When we use serum we give drops every 30mins to an hour over a day as they don't last very long in the eye. Doesn't work for all ulcers so its usually the last step before surgery.


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## Alec Swan (23 November 2017)

Thanks for that Aru.  The vet in question was Portuguese and at our local surgery.  He explained that opthalmics was his bag which gave us real hope.  He prescribed Optimmune then as that had no effect,  steroids and then we took the dog down to the AHT at Newmarket where they immediately diagnosed Pannus (thanks for the spelling correction!).

We returned to our local vet,  more steroids and that night the guy spent 3 hours in conversation via e/mail with a vet in the US.  We returned the next day and he then took blood,  'created'(?) serum from it and for 24 hours and every hour she had drops in each eye with serum alternating with steroids.  We took her back and there seemed to be a marginal improvement.  The vet suggested that we stop for 24 hours to see if there was any continuation but the dog deteriorated.  From the start of the serum treatment was perhaps 3 days and the next morning,  she was totally blind,  the option was to remove both eyes and as the poor girl was quite clearly distressed,  and with the DG's (my OH) agreement,  I sent her off to heaven.  The dog was clearly struggling with total blindness and it was pitiful to witness.

Research revealed that Pannus is rare,  almost exclusively found in GSDs and Greyhounds and mostly it was to do with UV light and at high altitude.  All very odd.  The irony of course was that the DG also has an immune system problem with chronic and crippling rheumatoid arthritis.

Anyway,  that's the extent of my limited experience with serum!  Thanks again for your response.

Alec.


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