Allogeneic blood transfusion in a rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) with anemia: a clinical case report

Abstract

Blood transfusion is an infrequently reported therapeutic procedure in rabbits. This case report describes the clinical management of a rabbit with persistent anemia treated with allogenic blood transfusion. A 2-year-and-6-month-old male New Zealand White rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) presented with weight loss, coat abnormalities, and persistently decreased hematocrit values during follow-up prior to intervention. After one month of nutritional supplementation without hematological improvement, blood transfusion was indicated. Two clinically healthy donor rabbits were selected, and major and minor crossmatch tests were performed, yielding negative results. Two transfusions of 21 mL of fresh whole blood were administered, each obtained from a different donor and separated by a five-day interval, with no immediate adverse transfusion reactions observed. Twenty-four hours after the second transfusion, the red blood cell count was 5.58 × 10¹² L^-1, the hemoglobin concentration was 9.8 g dL^-1, and the hematocrit increased to 31.6%, accompanied by clinical improvement. At the subsequent follow-up on December 16, 2025, the hematocrit was 26.5%, indicating that the hematological improvement following transfusion did not represent definitive resolution of the underlying abnormality. This report documents the experience of blood transfusion in a rabbit within an institutional clinical setting and highlights the relevance of an interdisciplinary ap