The Giraffe Plasma Bank & the Butterfly Effect L Dadone, VMD, P Bapodra-Villaverde, BVetMed, DACZM, E Stringer, DVM, DACZM, K Thomas, DVM, C Bradford, DVM, DACZM, M Barrie, DVM, C Rettenmund, DVM, DACZM, J Torres, DVM, S Carle, DVM, D Wilfong, CVT, & A Schilz
The Giraffe Plasma Bank was created because about ¼ of zoo giraffe mortalities may be associated w neonates
50 Yrs of Giraffe Mortality Data n = 1,310 (1967-2017) Restraint 12% Noninfectious Disease 8% Neonate 26% From Dadone & Klaphake, 2017 Trauma 24% Infectious Disease 25%
Causes of Newborn Giraffe Mortality Congenital abnormalities Joint hyperextension Umbilical hernia complications White muscle disease Dystocia Failure of passive transfer Hand-rearing complications Maternal neglect Trauma Hyperextended fetlocks
What is Failure of Passive Transfer? Newborn hoofstock need to absorb maternal antibodies & proteins from colostrum in their 1 st day Without this, calves may die from infections Colostrum from other species (ie domestic cows) will not necessarily provide pathogenspecific immunity
Plasma Transfusions Plasma transfusions can provide antibodies for calves that don t get sufficient colostrum Using trained blood-draw behaviors, CMZoo started banking giraffe plasma in preparation for our next giraffe calf
CMZoo s calf Rae didn t need our banked plasma But this plasma was needed by another zoo w a newborn giraffe
Denver Zoo made headlines by saving newborn giraffe Dobby - Medical care included a plasma transfusion from a CMZoo giraffe
Based on this demonstrated need, we started a national Giraffe Plasma Bank Blood samples collected using trained behaviors!
Giraffe Plasma Recipients, Year #1 Case # Outcome Sex Date Comments 1 Lived M 3/17 2 Lived F 4/17 3 Died M 5/17 Dislocated hip 4 Died M 6/17 Head tilt 5 Lived M 6/17 MRSA infection 6 Lived F 1/18 Total 4 lived, 2 died 4.2
Plasma transfusions also helped other hoofstock species An okapi calf at Denver Zoo was saved w okapi plasma donated from the Columbus Zoo, Dec 2017
50 Yrs of Okapi Mortality Data n = 91 (1967-2017) Trauma 15% Neonate 45% From Dadone & Klaphake, 2017 Infectious Disease 30%
Training hoofstock for blood collections & sharing blood products saves lives Should zoos create plasma banks for okapi & other hoofstock species w high neonate mortality?
Increasing neonate survival will help us maintain genetic diversity SSP Goal: >90% genetic diversity for 10 generations Are we on track? Generic giraffe: Green (n = 425) Masai giraffe: Yellow (n = 120) Okapi: Yellow (n = 105) Malayan tapir: Red (n = 35) Red-flanked duiker: Red (n = 34)
Potential Additional Benefits of the Plasma Bank
Regular Access to Blood Could Help Us Make Medical Advancements for Giraffe Individual animal care & diagnosis Identify species-specific doses for pain meds, antibiotics, etc Develop new treatments (ie stem cell therapy)
Medical Advancement: Stem Cell Therapy Lame giraffe 1 day before stem cell therapy (4/18/17) Recheck 3 wks after hoof trim & stem cell therapy (5/10/17)
Media Opportunities The media loves stories about zoo babies, quality medical care & collaborations
Even when critical cases don t survive, these stories raise awareness for the great work of our modern zoos Opportunity to message about Zoo s animal care & other programs AZA community benefits w examples of great animal care & attention to welfare
Raising Awareness for the Great Work of Zoos Helps Counter Anti- Zoo Welfare Concerns We can prevent some giraffe calf mortalities w plasma transfusions
Increased Collaborations Benefit Us All Sharing resources & ideas helps us provide better animal care These partnerships help us build a community to benefit giraffe in zoos & in the wild
Conclusions Plasma transfusions can help prevent some giraffe calf mortalities Plasma banking could benefit breeding programs for multiple hoofstock species Trained medical behaviors are helping us advance zoo animal care Should trained blood-draw behaviors be a standard of care for giraffe?
Resources Girafferesourcecentre.org Giraffe plasma bank protocol ldadone@cmzoo.org Priya.Bapodra@ columbuszoo.org Annual Giraffe Care Workshop at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Please Join the Giraffe Plasma Bank!! Your logo HERE!