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Blood products can be administered to animals suffering from a variety of diseases, including anaemia following haemolysis or haemorrhage, sepsis, coagulopathies, specific factor deficiencies and disseminated intravascular coagulation.
The decision to give a patient a blood transfusion depends on a number of factors, including the patients Packed Cell Volume, any patient with a PCV lower than 20% should be considered for a transfusion. Additionally the onset of the anaemia whether it is acute or chronic is important and also on the clinical picture portrayed by the animal. Signs including tachycardia, bounding peripheral pulses, tachypnoea, collapse, weakness and lethargy all suggest that a blood transfusion may be necessary.