One of the country's top animal hospitals is its mission to recruit dog blood donors as they are ready to install Ireland's first animal dialysis machine.
The treatment is available at the Meath branch of veterinary specialists owned by Laura Cuddy, a native of Cork, and her husband, Turlow McNally. The couple also has a veterinary hospital on Eastgate Little Island, Cork, which opened last May.
Laura and Turlow have been working on everything from caesarean sections of American monkeys to destroying Emmas' repairs. Since establishing a veterinary business in Ireland, they have guided the path in terms of exotic animals MRI and CT scans, as well as cancer detection devices.
Now they are taking it a step further, bringing animal dialysis to Ireland.
More than a century has passed since the first practical dialysis demonstration in 1914, and it was performed in dogs and rabbits, creating holes in the development of human treatments.
Cuddy said blood donations are already part of the Critcal Care service they provided, but they will need more donations to provide dialysis. As a result, they hunt for healthy dogs to act as donors.
“Essentially you're taking out the toxins, but you're removing so many toxins that you have to replace the blood in the process.”
“Traditionally, there are no centralized blood banks in Ireland, and people donate blood charity because we rely on public donations to promote our services.
“It's amazing how generous people who take the time out of the day to drive us so our pets can give them blood. Many do that because they know it's for greater benefits.
“Many people involved in the veterinary industry want to help. Some pet owners have heard about blood donation services. They understand the importance of donations as their own pets may have received a blood transfusion.
“We have a blood donor register and if we need it, we can ask them to ring them on it and bring pets to give them blood. We have to rely on the goodwill of people.”
Dogs undergo a rigorous selection process as part of their donation programme. And of course, not all donors are appropriate, like humans, and there may be fear of acupuncture factors. As a result, each dog donor must be evaluated very carefully and must be at least 25kg to qualify.
“It's important to make sure they have the right temperament and that they don't cause any problems or pain. We always take them to court first. If the dog is scared, donations cannot proceed.”
“Usually they know they have a treat at the end, so it's fine. They always have local anesthetics around their necks, so they don't feel like they have a needle in them.”
She explained how the initiative works.
Erin Lagarde, a veterinarian who moves from New Orleans and works in the hospital's critical care unit, said he is looking forward to seeing Irish pets benefit from the facility's new dialysis machines.
“The intention of dialysis for pets is not to do it in the long run. Really, it's when they've suffered kidney damage, as they give them more time to recover. The goal is to get them back to normal or near normal health.
Erin has extensive experience and is currently undergoing dialysis in Cerion, USA. She, her husband and veterinarians, and their family moved to Ireland. And how long does dialysis take?
If dialysis is determined to be necessary or beneficial, a special IV should be placed that can take blood from the body and pass through the filter. The purified blood is then returned to the dog or cat. In general, the process can take around 4-6 hours or so. Usually, it is done about three times a week until full recovery. We use the same machine made for people
“If you decide that dialysis is necessary or benefits, you need to place a special IV that can be taken from the body and placed through a filter. After that, the purified blood is returned to the dog or cat. Generally, the process can usually be done about three times a week, initially until it has fully recovered.
