title: Iron status in blood donor dogs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the popularity of canine blood donor (BD) programs, there is scarce scientific information regarding iron status in this canine population of dogs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess iron status in dogs used in a blood donor program.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 130 healthy dogs (75 BD, 55 controls [C]) were included. A subset of dogs (n = 12) were used to evaluate the effects of repetitive donations by having a second and more recent sample analyzed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum iron concentration (SI), unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC), total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and percentage transferrin saturation (%SAT) were obtained. Values were compared using a 2-way ANOVA (factors: BD status, breed). For the subset of BD, the first sample (less frequent donors -LD-, after a mean of 3.8 donations) was compared to a second sample (experienced donors -ED-, mean 13.6 donations) using a paired t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SI (183.7 ± 55.3 μg/dL) and %SAT (55.7 ± 17.4%) were higher and UIBC (152.6 ± 73.3 μg/dL) was lower in BD dogs than in C (153.9 ± 51.7 μg/dL, 43.8 ± 17.8%, and 224.1 ± 120.6 μg/dL, respectively). Also, UIBC and TIBC were lower, and %SAT higher in Greyhounds when compared with non-Greyhounds. ED had decreased %SAT and increased UIBC and TIBC when compared with LD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our canine BD population did not have iron deficiency and had higher SI concentration than C. However, ED (~14 consecutive blood donations every ~8 weeks) developed a mild iron deficiency, although values were still within canine reference intervals. Greyhounds have higher %SAT than non-Greyhounds, which might be a breed-specific peculiarity.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zaldívar-López
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Iazbik
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Marín
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Couto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001782:Blood Donors; D004285:Dogs; D006400:Hematocrit / Q000662:veterinary; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood*; D014168:Transferrin / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014168:Transferrin; D007501:Iron