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Karen Humm, Associate Professor in Transfusion Medicine and Emergency and Critical Care, Charlotte Russo, Head Transfusion Medicine RVN     

A cat, whose donations had previously helped numerous RVC patients, helped to save his own life when he was treated with his own plasma, from blood he had donated years before.

Leo, a gorgeous 12-year-old tabby Maine Coon, had been noticed to be sleeping more than usual and not eating as well as usual by his owner. This led to an appointment at his usual vet practice and then a referral to RVC Small Animal Referrals. It was a place Leo and his owner knew well from his blood donations, but it was a new experience to come as a patient.

He was assessed and the Emergency Referrals team found fluid in Leo’s chest surrounding his lungs. This was impairing Leo’s ability to breathe effectively so the team immediately drained the fluid.

A quick analysis of the fluid showed it was pus and so Leo was placed in an oxygen kennel and started on intravenous antibiotics. He was transferred into the ICU under the care of the Critical Care team, drains were placed into his chest allowing regular flushing and draining of his chest cavity.

A CT scan was the performed, which identified abscesses in his lungs, meaning surgery was indicated. During surgery Leo needed a plasma transfusion.

Plasma can be stored frozen for up to five years, as luck would have it – as there is nothing more compatible than your own blood products – there was still a unit of Leo’s plasma in the hospital.

Complications after surgery                            

Leo had quite a complicated recovery and his sepsis became life-threatening. He became anaemic as he was not well enough to produce new red cells and had had some blood loss during surgery and frequent blood sampling to monitor his progression. This meant he was struggling to deliver enough oxygen to his tissues and the team were worried this was hampering his recovery. Consequently, Leo was placed in the oxygen kennel again.

Meanwhile, the transfusion team got to work finding Leo the perfect blood donor match for the red blood cells he required. A cat called Bertie, who was owned by a former RVC student, was found to be compatible with Leo and donated blood for him.

Leo was in hospital for three weeks and spent most of that time in the Intensive Care Unit. However, it was a truly multidisciplinary case, with multiple specialist teams working together to help Leo. These included the Diagnostic Imaging team, the Anaesthesia and Analgesia Service, the Soft Tissue Surgery team, the Emergency and Critical Care teams and the Transfusion Medicine Service.

Everyone was so happy to see Leo start to return to health and for him to be able to go home. His owner reported that he was soon back to his normal happy self, although his beautiful fur took a while to grow back!

Leo’s contributions to patient treatment             

Leo joined the RVC Blood Donor Programme in 2014, along with his brothers Bertie and Dicky. They donated blood 37 times, helping at least 74 cats. Leo was always such a gentle giant when coming in to donate with his brothers, taking everything in his stride.

He joined at a time when we couldn’t store feline blood, so he and his owner Peter were essentially on call. Leo frequently travelled in to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals at short notice to help save one of our patients.

In late 2015 we developed a blood collection system for cats so that we could store feline blood making it accessible at all times of the day or night. This meant that Leo could come in at a more convenient time to donate.

The CT scanner, the oxygen kennel and the freezer where the plasma was stored were all funded by the Animal Care Trust, the RVC’s registered charity.