Abstract
Simple SummaryCanine blood transfusions and blood donations are integral to veterinary medicine. Currently, the supply of canine blood products is not meeting the demand, and veterinarians find it difficult to recruit blood donors, especially when animal welfare is a priority. The general aim of our study was to determine how to improve the effectiveness of canine blood donor recruitment. To do this, we conducted a survey to identify the level of dog owners’ awareness about canine blood donation and to help us understand what would motivate people to become a part of the donation process as well as what people are afraid of. The results of our study suggest that donor recruitment could be increased by dispelling the myths about possible complications and by improving communication between veterinary doctors and dog owners, as the awareness of canine blood donation is poor. In conclusion, recruitment strategies should focus on the management of fear regarding canine blood donation, as well as animal welfare and the education of clients, as motivational strategies come second.The recruitment of canine blood donors remains a challenge, especially in countries where blood donation and veterinary medicine are still emerging medical fields. There are few previous studies that have discussed canine blood donation strategies, and the subject of fear and its influencing factors have not been investigated. The main purpose of our study was to investigate dog owners’ awareness, motivation, and fear regarding canine blood donation in order to improve donor recruitment strategies. We created a six-page questionnaire and submitted it to dog owners (n = 207) in person. Two-thirds of the respondents (65.7%) were not aware that canine blood donation exists in Lithuania. We did not find any factors that would significantly affect the motivation of respondents toward donation. We found an association between the fear of the owner and the health status of the owned dog (p = 0.008), as well as if their animal had needed urgent care in the past (p = 0.031). The fact that some participants were blood donors themselves did not affect their motivation, but they were 19.76% less afraid of canine blood donation (p = 0.001), as were respondents who were aware of canine blood donation (p = 0.004). In conclusion, the recruitment strategy should focus on the management of fear toward canine blood donation and the education of clients, and donor welfare must remain a priority.
Highlights
Canine blood donation is a noble, altruistic, and empathetic process
In order to assess how strongly the interviewees feared canine blood donation and which factors frightened them the most, we presented them with six statements about canine blood donation (e.g., “During the donation, a needle will be inserted into a vein in the neck of the dog and blood will be collected”)
250 people were invited to participate in the survey, of which 207 completed the questionnaire and responded to all questions; 13 questionnaires were partially filled out (12 people did not fill out Part E), 21 people refused to fill in the questionnaire as soon as they were invited to participate, and 9 empty questionnaires were found in the box
Summary
Canine blood donation is a noble, altruistic, and empathetic process. It is an act of human–animal kinship and always features three inseparable figures—a veterinarian, an animal owner or caregiver, and a dog.Numerous techniques such as advanced blood typing [1], crossmatching [2], transfusion collection, administration, blood products production, and complication algorithms have been developed and have improved the safety of blood transfusion in dogs as well as in other pets and livestock over the years [3,4,5,6,7,8]. Canine blood donation is a noble, altruistic, and empathetic process. It is an act of human–animal kinship and always features three inseparable figures—a veterinarian, an animal owner or caregiver, and a dog. Numerous techniques such as advanced blood typing [1], crossmatching [2], transfusion collection, administration, blood products production, and complication algorithms have been developed and have improved the safety of blood transfusion in dogs as well as in other pets and livestock over the years [3,4,5,6,7,8]. Despite the fact that small animal veterinary services are growing, blood services around the world are struggling with a permanent shortage of blood, and the proportion of pets that donate blood is unknown [11]
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