This week, Kolkata witnessed a rare blood transfusion when five-year-old Coco, a Golden Retriever, donated blood to give a new lease of life to Leo, a 10-month-old Doberman suffering from renal issues. While the medical procedure came as a respite for Leo, he is likely to undergo more transfusions in the future and will require more donors.

“Initially, when I heard that Leo needed blood and was looking for a donor, I was hesitant. But then Coco’s blood test turned out fine so I decided that if Coco could help Leo, why not?” Rishee Kanta Mukherjee, Coco’s human parent, told The Indian Express. Leo is Mukherjee’s brother-in-law Satyajit Kumar Vidyarthi’s dog.

Vidyarthi said they suspected something was amiss when Leo stopped eating for a few days after suffering from fever. “We ran a few tests but were not satisfied as Leo’s condition was not improving. The veterinarian suspected that Leo may be suffering from renal issues as his creatinine was high and was fluctuating. His blood count was also going down. Then, the ultrasound report showed that Leo had a tumour in his spleen, which caused the blood disorder and brought down his haemoglobin to 2.1,” Vidyarthi said, adding that ideally, haemoglobin should not drop below 12.

With the veterinarian suggesting a blood transfusion, Vidyarthi started looking for a suitable donor. The search ended with Coco and the transfusion was conducted at the Animal Health Pathology Lab at Dover Terrace near Deshapriya Park on Tuesday.

“For a first-time transfusion, matching blood groups are not a must. But if Leo needs a subsequent transfusion, a matching donor will be required,” Pratik Chakraborty, who runs the pathology lab, told The Indian Express.

While a dog can donate around 300 ml of blood at a time, depending on its size, Coco gave 260 ml of blood. “Coco is absolutely fine after the transfusion,” said Mukherjee, adding that there was a need to create awareness about such blood donations.

For Vidyarthi, the priority is to get Leo’s haemoglobin up. “Leo requires at least two more transfusions. Once he is stable, the future course of action can be decided,” he added.

Two more donors have been lined up and if their blood grouping matches Leo’s, the second transfusion is likely to take place this weekend, Vidyarthi said, adding that he is also looking for more donors.