Veterinary Clinical Medicine-I (General and Systemic)

RATE OF TRANSFUSION

• Rate of transfusion depends on the hydration status, degree of anemia, and general health condition of an animal. Initial rate is slow, starting with 1-3 ml over the first 5 minutes to observe for any transfusion reactions, even with blood typed and/or crossmatched transfusions. This is followed by a rate of about 10-20 ml/kg/hr. In animals with cardiac failure, do not exceed 4 ml/kg/hr. Transfusion of a single bag should be completed within 4 hours.
• The transfusion trigger varies widely depending on the rapidity of anemia onset and degree of the anemia as well as severity of clinical signs; there is no specific PCV at which to transfuse, but at a PCV of <15-20% oxygenation of tissues becomes drastically reduced.