In Vitro Compatibility of Canine and Human Blood: A Pilot Study

Military working dogs (MWDs) are force multipliers that are exposed to the same risks as their human counterparts on the battlefield. Hemostatic resuscitation using blood products is a cornerstone of damage control resuscitation protocols for both humans and dogs. Canine-specific blood products are in short supply in mature theaters due to logistic and regulatory concerns and are almost nonexistent in austere environments, whereas human blood products are readily available at most surgical facilities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro compatibility of human and canine blood by using standard crossmatching techniques with the canine blood acting as the recipient and the human blood acting as the donor. Blood samples were collected from 20 government-owned canines (GOCs) and 7 healthy human volunteers in addition to washed red blood cells (RBCs) from a commercial blood typing kit. Major and minor crossmatches were conducted as well as a protein denatured crossmatch. All samples in this study showed strong cross-reactivity, with the majority demonstrating profound hemolysis and a minority showing substantial agglutination. Based on the results of this study, transfusion of human blood to an MWD cannot be recommended at this time.