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| The University of Tennessee Health Science Center - Department of Comparative Medicine |
Nonsurvival exsanguination shall be performed under general anesthesia. Survival blood collection procedures may be performed without general anesthesia if peripheral blood vessels are used. Intracardiac bleeding requires general anesthesia because of the occasional complications of cardiac tamponade, pulmonary hermorrhage, or pneumothorax. Blood collection from the retroorbital sinus should be done with anesthesia.
As a general rule, the volume of blood taken should be limited to 1.25% of the body weight (or 20% of the calculated blood volume). If replacement with electrolyte solution is given immediately after blood withdrawal to prevent hypovolemic shock, up to 2% of the body weight may be taken (2cc/100 gm).
The transection of vessels for blood collection is discouraged. More suitable alternate techniques are usually possible. If cutdowns or tissue transections are done, anesthesia is required.
Frequency of blood collection depends on the volume taken. If maximum volumes are taken, once/week should be safe. If more frequent collections are necessary, hematocrit and/or serum protein levels should be monitored. If small volumes are to be collected over a short time, it is suggested that indwelling catheters be used and maintained with heparin/saline to avoid having to make repeated intravascular injections.
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