36

What Is a “Blood-Transfusing Dog”?

According to a Medical Dictionary, blood transfusion refers to the “transfer of blood or blood components from one person (the donor) into the bloodstream of another person (the recipient). Blood transfusion may be done as a lifesaving maneuver to replace blood cells or blood products lost through bleeding or due to depression of the bone marrow.” Accordingly, blood-transfusing dogs are a fairly new-formed concept where dogs are raised with

the sole task and purpose of providing transfusions for other dogs that are in need of a blood donation. The organizations responsible for these dogs operate with this rationale: “Humans can donate blood but dogs cannot. Therefore, these blood-transfusing dogs will help supplement blood to your dogs.” To qualify as these blood-transfusing dogs, the canine must weigh over 30 kilograms, pass and receive all vaccinations and health exams, be free of anemia, and lastly, not ever have been pregnant. The choice of blood-transfusing dogs usually specify to fully grown Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Grey Hounds. The dogs usually start fulfilling their roles as blood-transfusing dogs at the age of two and continue until they reach the age of seven. These dogs, on a typical routine, have 300 milliliters of blood drawn once every month. The blood collected is sent to the “Korean Animal’s Blood Bank,” where it is used to provide surgical assessments. These blood-transfusing dogs repeat this process until they are unable to work any longer and are euthanized.

Current Status of Blood-Transfusing Dogs

The ratio of blood-donating dogs is extremely low compared to the amount of blood-transfusing dogs. The lack of practice in adopting blood-donating dogs creates the demand for blood,

Four Legged Angel, Blood-Transfusing Dog

Recall the exposition of the story in the movie Mad Max, where the main character was used merely to provide blood for another

character. Have you ever wondered what life would be like living in such conditions? Although the portrayal of a blood-transfusing human shown in the movie is a radical example, the case of blood-

transfusing dogs actually exists. Dogs, just like humans, need blood in case of emergencies and during surgery. In contrast, however, dogs

cannot wilfully donate their blood, thus creating the concept of blood-transfusing dogs. In this article, The Sungkyun Times (SKT) introduces readers to the interpretation of these blood-transfusing dogs and explores problems and solutions within this controversy.

By Dong Won Lee dongwonlee@skku.edu

mbn

.mk.

co.k

r

Process of Dog Blood Transfusion

37

but the shortage of blood supply results in the use of blood-transfusing dogs. In 2003, South Korea was ranked as the second overall country to raise the most blood-transfusing dogs, enlisting between 100 to 200 dogs. Following the trend, in 2012, it was estimated that there was an increase to around 300 blood-transfusing dogs in the country. Presently, although the number of these dogs is unclear, it is estimated that the amount of blood supply in storage is plentiful enough to give up to two household dogs a blood transfusion in every animal hospital constructed in Korea. These blood-transfusing dogs reside primarily by the Korean Animal Blood Bank located in Dongmyeong-dong, Sokcho City, Gangwon Province. Additionally, many populate some of the big university hospitals located in Seoul. On average, four to five packages of blood drawn from the transfusing dogs are used and bought for \300,000 to help in aiding other dogs.

Blood Transfusion Process

Canine Blood Types

Animals such as dogs and cats have cell surface antigens that indicate blood type. Respectively, differentiating from human blood, the canine blood subsists of 13 different groups of blood called Dog Erythrocyte Antigens (DEA). Of these DEA types, eight DEA types have been recognized and accepted as an international

standard. Although ideally it would be best if dogs receive the blood type that matches with their own, dogs are able to receive any type of blood in the first transfusion because their immune system creates antibodies to form and remain in its body, making the usage of blood-transfusing dogs effective and useful. During the second transfusion, however, the receiving dog’s immune system remembers the blood, recognizes it as an intruder, and ultimately rejects it. For this reason, it is crucial to identify the type of blood and match it for the second transfusion.

Using the Blood of the Blood-Transfusing Dog

Although the usage of the blood collected from the blood-transfusing dogs cannot alter the extremities between life and death, it is a crucial tool in aiding or healing other dogs that are in need. The blood is first extracted from the dog’s hind leg or cervical vein located in the neck without the aid of anaesthesia. One of the most obvious ways that the obtained blood can be used is in circumstances of injury where the recipient animal is externally bleeding and is in need of blood and surgery. Another form of using the blood of the transfusing dogs may occur if the recipient dog is suffering from anemia or an internal parasitic attack. Transfused blood can help to bolster the removal of damaging harms from the blood system and to maintain a healthy quantity of red blood cell counts. Additional processes that require the blood of transfusing dogs can include increasing antigens in the recipient dog’s system or treating recipient dogs that have caught a sudden epidemic disease relating to a certain blood disorder. Furthermore, even though this may be a radical occurrence, sometimes the blood of the transfusing dog is used to increase the health and immune system of the recipient dog because the blood given by the transfusing dog has already received all necessary vaccinations. Many people find vaccinations to be inhumane and cruel, hence the transfusion can be an alternative to improving the immune system. Despite the transfusion of the dog’s blood being effective, many questions have arisen regarding the safety and ethical regularities of this behavior.

blog

.nav

er.c

omw

dfpa

rk.ti

stor

y.com

Dog Blood-Transfusion Process

Blood-Tranfusing Dogs

Owned by Private Companies Owned by Personal Guardians

Animal Blood Bank

Tranfusion TransfusionProper Healthcare and Ex-Post Facto

Management

Blood-Donating Dogs

kang-g.com

The DEAs Within Dogs

Dog Recieving a Blood Transfusion

38

Legislation

Korea

In Korea, there are not many laws securing the safety and boundaries of these blood-transfusing dogs, nor are there stable programs constructed to reduce the number of blood-transfusing dogs and create a better system for the canine animal blood bank. However, the Animal Protection Law that was recently enforced on January 20, 2015, stands as the best case in defending the rights of the blood-transfusing

dogs. The law states that it protects the animals’ basic rights because it emphasizes responsibilities of citizens over animals, proscribes appropriate breeding conditions, prohibits animal abuse, regulates animal operations and surgery, and supports animal rescue. However, even with these provisions, the stance in defending blood-transfusing dogs is limited because the law focuses upon the general restricted acts without going into detail. For example, in the Animal Operation and Surgery Act, the law only states that one should not cut certain parts of the body or conduct gruesome acts in humiliating the corpse. This does not necessarily help in defending the rights of transfusing dogs. Although many animal rights activists have been trying to change the legislation for the sake of these dogs, little progress has resulted. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has tried to intervene because it felt that there was a problem in the blood-transfusing system, but it was difficult to make progress toward managing and inspecting these concerns because of licensing issues within industries.

Other Regions

To use the approaches of America, Europe, and Canada as a comparison, the community of animal rights and interventions are skilfully structured and have already launched many actions for blood-transfusing dogs. Even though these nations mostly interact only with blood-donating dogs rather than blood-transfusing dogs, there are certain safety protocols and measures

to regulate blood-transfusing dogs. For example, California Senate Bill 1345 states that the industry must not only care for these blood-transfusing dogs, but must also set up special facilities for these dogs where they can exercise, socialize, and interact with people for emotional purposes. They must also give out specific details and directions on how much blood will be collected and the intervals between withdrawing the blood. The bill also states that the industries must prepare a retirement plan for these dogs after they are done with their life as a blood-transfusing dog and requires an annual inspection by the government in order to maintain their license. These nations also have stable programs to aid blood-transfusing dogs. For example, in Europe, animal rights supporters created the New Life Saving Dog Blood Donor Program, leading to the screening of 1,200 pet dogs and canine law-enforcement officers during early 2014 in order to develop a group of 200 to 400 regular donors. Program such as these aim to slowly remove the concept of blood-transfusing dogs and create a structure of blood-donating dogs.

Ethical Issues

The borders of ethical issues are very thin and hard to define. To further explain the issue, the SKT intended to interview the Animal Blood Bank regarding blood-transfusing dogs, but this interview was bluntly declined due to the industry’s “security issues.” The problems created by the concept of blood-transfusing dogs are evident and clearly depicted. The main ethical controversy stands with the question of dealing and raising blood-transfusing dogs, as well as using their blood for medical purposes without their direct consent. In the case of humans, one is able to communicate and willingly donate their blood, while dogs, without their consent, forcefully have blood draw in the name of science and health. Another question that arose as an ethical issue is whether it is right to take the blood of a transfusing dog for the sake of healing a personal household dog. Both dogs are gifted with a source of life, but using one’s life to support another has been an argument without a clear answer. In sequence with the last question, a further ethical issue arises in euthanizing the dogs after their duty as a blood-transfusing dog is completed. This stands as a major violation of animal rights and cruel and unusual punishment. Many people have protested this practice, saying that it is inhumane to permit this gruesome act, but no legislative change or legal enforcement has happened to date.

Blood-transfusing dogs have clearly brought many merits and advantages to society and household dogs. Whether countries should adopt the concept of these blood-transfusing dogs has been long debated over the century without a clear answer. The act of using their blood for healing cannot be overridden of the fact that these dogs are sacrificing their life and vice versa. Nevertheless, one must be cautious in regarding both sides of the argument and evaluate both values for this case.

yes2

4.co

m

Book Written about a Former Blood-Tranfusing Dog