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Feline transfusion medicine for registered veterinary nurses
Abstract
Registered veterinary nurses (RVNs) are integral to maintaining patient safety during transfusions. Their knowledge spans appropriate donor criteria, interpreting blood typing and cross-matching tests, mastering blood collection and administration, and providing comprehensive post-procedure care. This article concisely explores the basics of feline transfusion medicine for RVNs. Although these cases can be complex, a solid understanding of nursing care and safety precautions empowers RVNs to contribute significantly to positive outcomes, fostering job satisfaction and clinical fulfillment.
The use of feline blood transfusions is commonplace in many veterinary practices. This type of therapy is a lifesaving intervention for feline patients with conditions such as anaemia, coagulopathies and trauma.
Feline blood types are determined using the AB blood system, which consists of three blood groups: A, B or AB. The clinical significance of feline blood groups is mainly because of the high level of naturally occurring alloantibodies (Giger, 2015).
During transfusion, cats with types A or B should only receive their corresponding blood type. Cats with the much rarer AB blood type should, where possible, receive AB blood: however, due to its rarity, this is not always available. As such, type A blood would be the next best choice (Gibson and Callan, 2018).
According to (Gibson and Callan 2018), cats with type A blood are more common than those with type B. (Gibson and Callan 2018) found that 68% of non-pedigree cats were type A, 30% were type B and 2% were type AB (Table 1). Therefore, it is important to ensure that practices that perform feline blood transfusions aim to have both type A and type B cats on their donor list.
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