Frequency of dog erythrocyte antigen 1 blood group and risk of incompatible transfusion in dogs of different breeds and mongrels from the city of Salvador - BA, Brazil

The dog erythrocyte antigen 1 (DEA 1) is the most immunogenic blood group in dogs, and blood transfusions may trigger some undesirable effects in veterinary patients, which are directly associated with incompatible transfusions. The present study aimed to investigate the frequency of positive DEA 1 blood group in blood donor dogs from a blood bank in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and also to calculate the risk of managing incompatible blood in both first and second transfusion. A number of 203 dogs of different breeds, aged between 1 and 8 years, weighing 28 kg, with no degree of kinship and of both sexes in Salvador - BA, Brazil were evaluated to investigate the blood type DEA 1 frequency, by means of chromatography and flow cytometry tests for blood typing. The risk of incompatible blood transfusion in either a first or a second transfusion was also calculated. The frequency of the DEA 1 group ranged from 0% to 100% in various breeds, but with a mean positivity of 62.07% (126/203). And the lowest risk of an DEA 1 negative animal receiving DEA 1 positive blood within the group of animals evaluated was 0.92% at a first transfusion; and the risk of the same animal receiving incompatible blood for the DEA group 1 in the second transfusion was 0.008%. The highest risk of an DEA 1 negative animal receiving DEA 1 positive blood from these animals was 69.12%; and the risk of receiving incompatible blood for DEA 1 was 47.77%. In conclusion, the frequency of the DEA 1 group varied between the studied breeds and the risk of incompatible blood transfusions varies according to donor and recipiente breeds, but this can be overridden if blood typing tests are performed along with the cross-reaction test for compatibility.