The rescued greyhounds at Hemopet ARE universal donors for ALL dogs. They are all prescreened before coming to Hemopet so that they can help ANY dog who needs blood products.
As a veterinarian, I can assure you, Greyhound blood is NOT compatible with all blood types, canine OR feline! Cats have two blood types, A and B. Dogs blood types are based on the presence (or absence) of various dog erythrocyte antigens (DEA); the most important being DEA 1.1 and 1.2. A "universal canine donor" is both DEA 1.1 and 1.2 negative.
Greyhounds are used because they have a higher percentage of red blood cells per volume of blood, known as "packed cell volume" (PCV). While most dogs have a PCV of 40-50%, Greyhounds tend to have a PCV of abour 66%.
If you want to read a little more: http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=TUFTSBG2003&PID=5122&O=Generic
This isn't true. I work at a vet hospital and own a greyhound who is a blood donor. Greyhound blood is not necessarily compatible with all dogs, and certainly isn't compatible with cats. There are something like 8 different types of blood for dogs, greyhounds do have a higher likelihood of having what amounts to a "universal" blood type, but it varies per dog. I know several people who have had their greyhounds tested and they aren't universal. Even if the dog is universal, they still need to be cross-matched to give to another dog. As for cross-species blood donation, that simply isn't true.
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