Dear Lynn: >I brought two ferrets to the clinic to be used as donors. The doctor that >was taking care of her said that with the first the first transfusion they >wouldn't have to cross match or cross type blood, but if she needed more & >used a different ferret, they would have to. > >Is this true? What would be the reason? No it's not true. Ferrets do not have blood groups that require cross matching in the event of blood transfusions. You can utilize both donors without problem. I am sorry about Sam. However, I think I would hold off on surgery to try to identify the source of the blood. The two most common problems, that cause profuse bloody diarrhea in ferrets are shock and a large bleeding ulcer. Shock is more common - it is a non-specific sign, but when they go into shock, blood pools in the intestine and is passed out with the next BM. Either way, neither of these is a surgical problem. I would discuss this carefully with the vets, ask them what precisely they would be looking for on surgery, to prevent a possibly life-threatening "fishing trip". With kindest regards and New Year's hope for Sam, Bruce Williams, dVM [Posted in FML issue 3284]