Dr. Christine Eady MannVerified account

We took him to the local vet. She gave him anti-seizure medications and fluids, and ran some tests. When she got the results, she called us. She told us that Harley was a hot mess. There were multiple abnormalities, but one abnormality stood out: he had a platelet count of ZEROpic.twitter.com/nplzZNYv7q

Platelets are the part of your blood that let you clot. Too many and you clot too much, too few and you bleed. A ZERO platelet count is immediately life threatening.pic.twitter.com/QtwLoiyNFG

She surmised that the absence of platelets was causing bleeding in the brain and that the bleeding was causing seizures. She ran a few more tests to try to find a cause for the absence of platelets, but those tests were normal.pic.twitter.com/EZ9h7ErWmF

In dogs, the most common cause of low platelets is an autoimmune disorder. Entirely unpredictable and undiscoverable until some type of bleeding shows up. Here’s where COVID-19 comes in.pic.twitter.com/z8HzeXPTYL

The treatment of autoimmune causes of low/absent platelets is two basic things: steroids to tamp down the immune system attack on the platelets and replacing the platelets to stop bleeding. Harley got steroids. But he couldn’t get platelets to replace the ones he wasn’t producingpic.twitter.com/oKElp9CY04

The veterinarian explained that the transfusion he needed of platelet-rich plasma was out of stock. And not just at our veterinarian clinic but in the entire Central Texas area where we live.pic.twitter.com/jEIvfOXopE

Why? The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic drop in blood donations from pets, which has caused a critical lack of blood products for sick animals. People can’t safely bring their healthy animals in to donate at a rate to meet the need because of the risk of disease.pic.twitter.com/2XfD5Yxlrk

Had Harley received a transfusion of platelet-rich plasma when we first got to the veterinarian’s office, he might still be alive.pic.twitter.com/QlMTywnyhU