ACVC 2019: 3 common myths in transfusion medicine

November 5, 2019

Kenichiro Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC, SAIM)

Kenichiro Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC, SAIM), practices at Adobe Animal Hospital in California as an ICU and Blood Bank Manager. He is co-chair of the Veterinary Nurse Initiative and serves as a board member of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society, the Academy of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Technicians and the Veterinary Innovation Council.

Veterinary technician sheds light on these commonly believed blood transfusion misconceptions.

When it comes to transfusion medicine, there are three common myths every veterinary team should be aware of, says Kenichiro Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC, SAIM), veterinary education simulation laboratory manager at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York.

For example, it is commonly believed that “the first transfusion in dogs at least can be performed without doing any blood typing or cross matching or compatibility testing because it doesn't cause a reaction, which is partially true, but it always leads to sensitization and always leads to delayed hemolysis if you have a mismatched blood transfusion,” Yagi told dvm360 at this year's Atlantic Coast Veterinary Conference (ACVC). “We definitely want to at least blood type match the transfusion for dogs and cross match if possible.”

In the video, he debunks a few other commonly believed transfusion myths and explains why compatibility testing and monitoring are so important.