Onderstepoort Animal Blood Bank (OABB)

The OABB was established in 1999 to provide for the canine and feline transfusion needs of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital. Our in-house canine donors are greyhounds which are housed with the veterinary students at the residence and thus have excellent quality of life. They are relied upon when fresh whole blood transfusions are required. The majority of our canine donors are client owned and donate blood every 6-8 weeks. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the time sacrificed by all our donor clients. Our feline donors are all in-house to ensure that they are disease-free. All our canine donors are canine DEA 1.1 typed and only DEA 1.1 negative blood is utilised in the OVAH. The feline donors are also typed A,B or AB.

The OABB has a centrifuge which enables us to process blood into blood products thus meeting precise patient requirements and also maximising the utilisation of the donated blood. Equine blood is also processed to make plasma. Blood products processed include whole blood, which is mainly used for trauma and surgical cases, packed red blood cells which is mainly used for our haemolytic anaemias such as babesiosis which is endemic, and plasma which is utilised especially for parvovirus diarrhoea puppies, sepsis cases, cytotoxic snake bites and sepsis patients. Cryoprecipitate can also be made on request.

The OABB currently supplies fresh frozen plasma to vets throughout South Africa and provides for all the requirements of the OVAH and processes blood for veterinary hospitals with their own donor programmes in the region. Blood typing is performed for veterinarians wishing to establish a small donor programme and for feline breeders checking for incompatibilities causing neonatal isoerythrolysis.

If you would like your dog to become a blood donor or if you would like more information on creating a small donor programme in your practice please do not hesitate to contact us.