Update on Canine and Feline Blood Donor Screening for Blood-Borne Pathogens

Wardrop, K.J.; Birkenheuer, A.; Blais, M.C.; Callan, M.B.; Kohn, B.; Lappin, M.R.; Sykes, J.

Screening of blood donors should always follow a thorough history and physical examination to evaluate for factors that may make the animal a poor blood donor choice (see donor selection and care section). No tests for infectious agents have 100% analytical or clinical sensitivity and specificity. When screening for bloodborne pathogens in a potential blood donor, the test or tests with the greatest analytical sensitivity should be used. However, in situations where the prevalence of infection is low (as is the case for some pathogens in healthy animals compared with sick animals), positive results are more likely to represent false positives than in regions of high prevalence (low positive predictive value), and consideration should be given to verifying such positive results with a second test, preferably using a reference laboratory. Also, testing decisions should be based on the value of individual tests for a given pathogen, rather than choosing tests simply because they are present in blood donor panels offered by commercial laboratories.