Lack of detectable blood groups in domestic ferrets: implications for transfusion

Evidence of blood groups in domestic ferrets was sought by testing serum samples for naturally acquired or experimentally induced erythrocyte antibodies. All sera were tested for ability to cause direct agglutination, antiglobulin-enhanced (Coombs test) agglutination, or lysis. Examination of 212 randomly paired combinations of ferret serum and erythrocytes produced no evidence of naturally acquired blood group antibodies. Six pairs of ferrets were reciprocally transfused twice, 34 days apart, with 6-ml quantities of anticoagulated blood. All were tested 21 days after the first transfusion, as well as 10 and 30 days after the second transfusion; erythrocyte antibodies were not detected. Four additional pairs of ferrets were reciprocally inoculated SC with a series of six 1.25-ml quantities of blood in Alsever solution, administered over a 3-week period, and tested 8 days after the last injection; again, erythrocyte antibodies could not be detected. These observations suggest that blood groups of the kind in human beings and other mammals either do not exist in domestic ferrets or represent antigen systems too weak to elicit measurable responses under the reported conditions. It appears, therefore, that transfusion in this species poses little clinical risk, even without crossmatching.