Iron Status in Blood Donor Dogs

Background Despite the popularity of canine blood donor ( BD ) programs, there is scarce scientific information regarding iron status in this canine population of dogs. Objective To assess iron status in dogs used in a blood donor program. Animals A total of 130 healthy dogs (75 BD , 55 controls [C]) were included. A subset of dogs (n = 12) were used to evaluate the effects of repetitive donations by having a second and more recent sample analyzed. Methods Serum iron concentration ( SI ), unsaturated iron‐binding capacity ( UIBC ), total iron‐binding capacity ( TIBC ), and percentage transferrin saturation (% SAT ) were obtained. Values were compared using a 2‐way ANOVA (factors: BD status, breed). For the subset of BD , the first sample (less frequent donors ‐ LD ‐, after a mean of 3.8 donations) was compared to a second sample (experienced donors ‐ ED ‐, mean 13.6 donations) using a paired t ‐test. Results SI (183.7 ± 55.3 μg/dL) and % SAT (55.7 ± 17.4%) were higher and UIBC (152.6 ± 73.3 μg/dL) was lower in BD dogs than in C (153.9 ± 51.7 μg/dL, 43.8 ± 17.8%, and 224.1 ± 120.6 μg/dL, respectively). Also, UIBC and TIBC were lower, and % SAT higher in Greyhounds when compared with non‐Greyhounds. ED had decreased % SAT and increased UIBC and TIBC when compared with LD . Conclusions and Clinical Importance Our canine BD population did not have iron deficiency and had higher SI concentration than C. However, ED (~14 consecutive blood donations every ~8 weeks) developed a mild iron deficiency, although values were still within canine reference intervals. Greyhounds have higher % SAT than non‐Greyhounds, which might be a breed‐specific peculiarity.