Dog blood donors wanted: Philly-area animal hospitals are building their blood supplies amid a national shortage

Maple, a rescued pit-bull mix, was lying on an exam table, held down securely — with lots of petting — by two women as Amanda Parylak, a certified veterinary technician, began the delicate process of collecting 400 milliliters of the dog’s blood at Veterinary Emergency Group’s hospital in Center City.

The donated blood was then taken by Jessie Brown, the hospital chain’s national blood bank director, to be used in a future canine surgery or other emergency treatments.

January is National Blood Donor Month for humans — and for pets. And just as for people, there is a shortage of available animal blood for medical procedures. That need grew more acute during the pandemic when pet adoptions and ownership surged and veterinary hospitals grew to meet the demand, said Brown, a licensed veterinary technician.

In the Philadelphia region, only a handful of places operate animal blood banks, but they play an important, sometimes lifesaving, role in the world of animal medical care. The Ryan Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania — commonly known as Penn Vet — has one of the oldest animal blood banks in the nation, founded in 1987.

Philadelphia Animal Specialty and Emergency, a privately owned animal hospital in Point Breeze that opened in 2021, has a blood bank that also serves ACCT Philly, the city’s primary shelter.

In South Jersey, the Mount Laurel Animal Hospital maintains a canine blood bank.

“When a dog donates blood, they are rescuing the lives of three fellow canines!” the hospital says on its website.

Animal blood banks — mainly for dogs and cats — are a tiny, and still largely unregulated, part of the veterinary health-care industry. California is the only state that regulates animal blood banks, according to national veterinary experts.

At Penn Vet, the Penn Animal Blood Bank follows standards set by the Association of Blood and Biotherapies that were established to protect human donors and recipients, said Mary Beth Callan, professor of medicine at Penn Vet.

Penn Vet also follows guidelines set by the American College of Veterinary Internal medicine for infectious-disease screening of canine and feline blood donors, Callan said.

For dog or cat owners thinking about having their pet donate blood, Callan said, a local animal hospital may be a good place to start.

“All specialty hospitals are in need of blood products, so pet owners could consider a location that would be most convenient for them,” Callan said.

The rapidly growing Veterinary Emergency Group, where pit-bull mix Maple donated recently in Center City, is a national chain founded in 2014 by two alumni from the University of Pennsylvania: David Bessler, the CEO, is a graduate of the Penn School of Veterinary Medicine; David Glattstein, the president, is graduate of the Wharton School.

The company now has hospitals in more than 20 states — including Pennsylvania and New Jersey — and recently announced plans to open a 67th location. The chain opened its first Pennsylvania hospital in 2022 at 1213 Walnut St. in Philadelphia. A second hospital is set to debut next month in Northern Liberties. A location in Pittsburgh is scheduled to open in March.

The hospital chain started its first blood bank in April in Virginia, and since then has collected blood from a few dozen dogs at a handful of participating locations as the company tries to get the word out about canine blood donations. In the future, the group says, it is considering opening a feline blood donation program, too.

“I think education is the first step,” said Parylak, the certified veterinary technician. “A lot of people don’t realize that animals could ever need a blood transfusion the way people do.”

To encourage pet owners to consider donating, some hospitals offer incentives. Mount Laurel Animal Hospital gives out $25 Amazon gift cards for first-time donors. All veterinary hospitals provide some type of free medical examination of the prospective donor pet because a dog and cat must meet certain criteria.

For example, dogs need to be at least 50 pounds — some hospitals set the minimum at 55 pounds — and in excellent health. There are more specific requirements depending on the hospital. Once deemed eligible, dogs can donate blood every six to eight weeks.

Cats, unlike dogs, usually need to be sedated to donate and eligibility is more restrictive because of the complicated nature of feline blood. Not all hospitals collect blood from cats.

The Veterinary Emergency Group hospital at 1213 Walnut St. features a spacious central hub surrounded by rooms for examinations and surgeries. Owners can stay with their pets through an entire visit rather than sit in a waiting room, and comfort them during the donation.

Maple’s owner, Jill Anderson, was going to be there anyway because she is an emergency room doctor at the hospital. About a year ago, someone found Maple as an apparent stray and dropped her off at VEG Philly. After a waiting period that included unsuccessful attempts to determine whether Maple was someone’s pet, Anderson adopted her. And now, she’s also become a blood donor.

On a recent Monday, Anderson arrived at work with Maple for a scheduled blood donation. Maple, who is believed to be about 2 years old, was given an examination and a small amount of blood to be tested was drawn from Maple’s right hind leg.

Once she was given the green light to donate, Maple was taken into an exam room and placed on a table to have the blood taken from her neck. The actual blood collection by Parylak took seven minutes, though the full process added up to about an hour.

If donated blood isn’t available, veterinary hospitals can turn to commercial blood vendors, said Brown.

However, because of the national blood shortage, there are long wait times with commercial vendors, Brown said.

“It takes anywhere from 8 to 20 weeks to get one type of blood product from these vendors and you have to replenish your stock about every month,” Brown said.

That’s why the chain is pursuing its own blood-donor program.

“The last thing someone should worry about when their pet is having an emergency,” Parylak said, “is if the hospital they’re at has the lifesaving blood they need.”