Transfusion medicine, managed clinically.
Cesalpino manages the transfusion pathway from case review and compatibility testing through component preparation, administration, monitoring and follow-up. We work with registered veterinary practices that complete our clinical onboarding review.
Transfusion services
More than product availability.
The difficult part of transfusion medicine is not moving a unit from one refrigerator to another. It is deciding whether to transfuse, selecting the right component, establishing compatibility, administering safely, recognising a reaction and knowing what happened afterwards.
Cesalpino can perform the transfusion and support the treating clinician through each of those decisions. Our record follows the donor, the unit and the patient so that subsequent transfusions begin with the full history.
Cesalpino does not issue blood products to pet parents, to patients, or to any party other than a registered veterinary practitioner at an approved participating practice. Requests must come from the treating veterinarian, who retains clinical responsibility for the transfusion decision, the cross-match interpretation and the patient. If a pet parent contacts us directly, we refer them back to their veterinarian.
Products
Two components, from one donation.
Component therapy means a patient receives what they actually need rather than whole blood by default. It also means one committed donor supports more than one animal, which matters when the register is the constraint.
| Product | Preparation | Primary indication | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packed red blood cellspRBC | Whole blood collected into CPDA-1, centrifuged, plasma expressed, leukocyte-reduced by filtration. | Restoring oxygen-carrying capacity without volume overload.Immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia, tick-borne disease with severe anaemia, chronic blood loss, surgical and traumatic haemorrhage, non-regenerative anaemia. | Refrigerated. Shelf life per the anticoagulant and processing method used. |
| Fresh frozen plasmaFFP | Plasma separated from a whole blood collection and frozen promptly to preserve labile coagulation factors. | Replacing clotting factors, albumin and immunoglobulins.Anticoagulant rodenticide toxicity, hepatic coagulopathy, disseminated intravascular coagulation, hypoproteinaemia, severe pancreatitis, sepsis. | Frozen. Thawed to protocol immediately before issue. |
Approved practices receive the current unit specifications, availability, handling requirements and price schedule directly from the clinical team.
Services
What we do beyond supplying a bag.
A transfusion service is a clinical process, not a product catalogue. These are the parts of that process we take responsibility for.
Laboratory
Blood typing
Donor and recipient typing, so products are matched rather than assumed. Typing is part of building a register that is actually usable in an emergency.
Laboratory
Cross-matching
Major and minor cross-match performed before products are issued for a patient, particularly for any animal with a transfusion history or an immune-mediated process.
Processing
Component separation
Every whole blood collection is separated into packed red cells and plasma, so a single donation can support more than one patient and each patient receives only the component they need.
Processing
Leukocyte reduction
Leukocyte reduction begins at donation and matters again at transfusion. Donor white cells are filtered from every unit during processing to reduce avoidable recipient exposure and the risk of febrile non-haemolytic reactions.
Clinical
Transfusion services
Case review, component selection, compatibility testing, administration, baseline observations, close patient monitoring, reaction response and outcome follow-up. Product issue is one part of the service, not the endpoint.
Clinical
Donor programme management
Screening, health monitoring, typing and scheduling of a committed canine donor register, so that product availability is a managed pipeline rather than an emergency scramble.
Working with us
How a request works.
Register your practice
Submit the practice and veterinary registration details for review. We evaluate the practice’s clinical setup, transfusion capability, handling and reporting process before approval. Approved practices receive the current product schedule and urgent-request protocol.
Request a product
Contact us with the patient’s species, weight, presenting problem, current PCV or haematocrit, blood type if known, and transfusion history. That last one matters: a previously transfused patient needs a cross-match, not an assumption.
Typing and cross-match
We type and cross-match against available units and confirm compatibility before anything is released. Where a patient has an immune-mediated process, we will talk through the interpretation with you rather than just sending a result.
Issue or transfuse
The product is issued to you with its documentation, or the transfusion is performed by our team, depending on what suits the patient and your practice. Plasma is thawed to protocol immediately before issue.
Follow up
We ask for outcome information and for any suspected transfusion reaction to be reported to us, including mild febrile reactions. A transfusion service that does not hear about its reactions cannot improve, and we would rather know.
Clinical onboarding
Register your practice.
Registration is reviewed by the clinical team. Completing this form does not approve a practice or guarantee product availability.