A 10 year old Cocker Spaniel had to be rushed to an animal hospital where he was saved by a blood transfusion. Julie Wright, of Calverton, had taken her dog Harvey to their local vet after he suddenly became very lethargic, was passing dark stools and had bruising on the skin of his abdomen.
Julie said: “Harvey rapidly went downhill the previous evening, so we took him to our local practice, Minster Vets, who diagnosed the severity of illness, what was required to stabilise him and organised for him to be transferred to Paragon. We were in shock at the time as we knew something wasn’t right but we had no idea how critical he was."
The family took Harvey to Linnaeus-owned Paragon Veterinary Referrals in Wakefield, where the hospital performed its very first platelet concentrate transfusion with support from Pet Blood Bank, a nationwide blood service charity for pets. It was found that Harvey had moderate anaemia and severe thrombocytopenia as he had developed a condition in which the immune system attacks and destroys the platelets.
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Platelets are required for blood clotting, and this diagnosis explained the bleeding into Harvey’s stomach and the bruising. Whilst platelet transfusions don’t supply enough platelets to significantly increase the blood platelet numbers, they are crucial in the early stages of treatment to stem the bleeding, reducing the need for multiple blood transfusions and speeding up recovery.
It is unknown what caused this in Harvey. Julie continued: "Paragon prepared us for possibilities and asked us about resuscitation direction, that was when we realised how serious it was.
“However, both Minster and Paragon have been amazing and following the platelet transfusion Harvey is back to full health. He has gone back to how he was before, really active and very sociable.”
Jane Scott, veterinary surgeon at Paragon, said: “Platelet products have been available for some time in the USA but have only recently become available in the UK via the Pet Blood Bank. The canine platelet concentrate was couriered to us and Harvey received the transfusion that evening and Harvey was brighter by the next day.
“Harvey was discharged on further medication which we plan to gradually taper and he is currently doing well at home. We were really pleased to work with colleagues at the Pet Blood Bank to be able to give Harvey a platelet transfusion, and now we can offer this treatment to patients with thrombocytopenia.”
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