Specimen Type/Volume

1 mL EDTA blood.

Shipping Information

Ship in insulated container with freezer packs.

Collection Protocol

Collect blood into an EDTA vacutainer; avoid hemolysis.

Additional Information

More than 12 blood group systems have been described in dogs. Of these, the A system, which includes DEA 1, is the most clinically significant when considering blood transfusion in dogs. Anti-DEA 1 is very immunogenic, being a strong agglutinin and hemolysin. Naturally occurring alloantibodies against DEA 1 do not exist nor are they produced during pregnancy. Antibodies to DEA 1 are produced after transfusion of DEA 1 positive red blood cells to DEA 1 negative recipient dogs. Blood typing can be used to determine the DEA 1 status of both recipient and donor dogs. The analysis is performed using the Alvedia Lab Test DEA 1 kit.