**4. Donor selection**

To select permanent blood donors, blood typing have to be performed. Donors should be healthy young adults. They undergo routine physical check up and hematology and clinical chemistry evaluations are done. They should never taken a blood transfusion and should be free of blood parasites and other infectious diseases [1].

Nulliparous and spayed female dog and cat donors have to be chosen. Blood have be collected via jugular venipuncture aseptically. Acepromazine interferes with platelet function. Because of this donors should not be sedated with it [1].

Every 3 to 4 weeks, dogs can donate between 13 and 17 ml of blood per kilogram of body weight. Features of donors sould include well nourished, supplemented with oral iron, bled less than once per month to prevent iron deficiency, greater than 25 kg, and negative for antigens for DEAs 1.1, 1.2, 3, 5, and 7. Donors should not have heartworm disease, babesiosis, brucellosis, ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Donors have appropriate neck skin that allows easy entrance to the jugular vein, have a packed cell volume that is at least 0.40 L/L, have demonstrated a good temperament and be in good physical condition, have no past time history of transfusion or pregnancy, and have got sufficient levels of von Willebrand factor (vWF) [1, 3].

The ideal feline blood donors should be healthy, indoor-only cats with an agreeable temperament for easy handling and restraint. Owned pet cats should be donate maximum once every 2 months [43]. The features of feline donor sould be as follows; weigh more than 4.5 kg, have a packed cell volume that is at least 0.35 L/L, have demonstrated a good temperament, and be in good physical condition [3]. Donor cats can donate between 10 and 12 ml/kg. Adult healthy cats can donate 50 ml every weeks. Donors have to be type A. Type B donors may be demanded depending on breed prevalence and geography. Feline leukemia virus, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), feline infectious peritonitis, heartworm disease, and Hemobartonella sp have to be excluded in donor cats [1].

For appropriate care of donors some processes needed. These are current vaccinations, if there is contact with new animals every 6 mo fecal floatation, monitorization of hemogram every year, analysing clinical chemistry, screening for infectious diseases and in the dog preventative heartworm therapy in areas where it is necessary. When blood collection is taken the donor's weight, temperature, and packed cell volume have to be analysed [3, 71]. PCV or Hb are measured by taking a blood sample. Preferentially cats with a PCV of 30– 35% are used but cats with low–normal PCVs should not be used [43].

In the cat, blood can be taken by using a 19- to 20 gauge needle or butterfly into a syringe via jugular vein venipuncture. The region over the jugular vein is clipped and prepared aseptically and sedation is administered. It is prefered to use a 1:1 combination of ketamine 100 mg/ml and midazolam 5 mg/ml. It is made up in a small syringe and given intravenously up to a maximum dose of 5 mg/kg ketamine (0.1 ml/kg of combination). Syringe consists of either ACD, CPD, or CPDA- 1 (1 mL/9 mL of blood), or heparin (5 units/mL of blood). Before a preservative solution is used it can be placed in a small blood bag. To access the jugular vein a 19-21G butterfly needle is used. The blood is collected over a total of 10 15 mins. At once a maximum of 10-12 ml/kg blood can be donated. Isotonic crystalloid fluid therapy post-donation at a rate of 60 ml/h for 3 h is given to the cat [3, 43].
