Study of the hemogram and platelet function in blood donor dogs

Abstract

Primary haemostasis refers to the interactions between platelets, von Willebrand factor (vWF) and the vascular wall culminating with the formation of a platelet plug. Platelets play a central role in the initiation, regulation and localization of haemostasis. We evaluated any possible alterations in platelet number and function in canine blood donors. The study included 34 blood samples obtained from dogs of both sexes, aged between 2 and 8 years. An analyzer of platelet function in vitro (PFA-100) was used. The PFA-100 automatically generates a parameter, the closure time (CT), that reflects the time in seconds that elapses from the start of blood flow until it stops due to the formation of a platelet plug. Platelet function did not show any statistically significant differences due to the extraction of between 10–15% of the animal volaemia. The results show an inverse correlation between the haematocrit value and the CT of the PFA-100, a non significant correlation between the platelet count and the CT and that the use of cartridges PFA-EPI does not provide additional information to the results obtained with the PFA-ADP. This study shows that blood donation in donor dogs reduces the haematocrit and platelet count at physiological levels, so may be considered a safe procedure.