Military Working Dog Whole Blood Product or Substitute

Objective: Develop a whole blood product or substitute to aid in hemorrhage control for Military Working Dogs (MWD) after battlefield injury that can be used near the point of injury (POI) and throughout the continuum of care to reduce morbidity and mortality. Description: This topic is in support of the DoD Working Dog Strategic Research Plan concerning solutions for bleeding control and coagulopathy support. 1 The Military Working Dog (MWD) provides a unique and important service to the warfighter. MWDs serve as sentries, perform tracking and patrol, and are used for the detection of explosives. These activities come with a high risk of injury. Uncontrolled hemorrhage following traumatic injury accounts for over 45% of all MWD battlefield deaths 2 . The current standard of care for hemorrhage in the MWD is to provide immediate fluid therapy through the delivery of crystalloid fluids as the first-line treatment, which is then followed by a synthetic colloid or hypertonic saline. These treatments also require the administration of supplemental oxygen to maintain appropriate oxygen levels and for the survival of the MWD 3 . To improve their survival rates, the development of a shelf stable canine whole blood product or substitute is a critical priority. The goal of this topic is to develop a stable canine whole blood product and/or substitute (i.e. hemoglobin or polymer oxygen carriers), intended for canine use at both POI and throughout the continuum of care. The product should have a shelf-life of greater than 3 years and be thermal stable (-9℃ to 60℃) to ensure accessibility in operational environments. The product must primarily replicate the oxygen carrier characteristics of whole blood and demonstrate the ability to be used safely and effectively to treat blood loss following traumatic injury. This research topic does not support the use of canines for testing purposes. Any animal testing would require use of suitable animal models that would approximate the response of a canine. Blood products derived from canine donors must be negative for canine red blood cell antigens DEA 1.1 and DEA 1.2. Donor animals must also be tested for blood borne diseases including canine brucellosis, hemobartonellosis, Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease), Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm disease), Ehrlichia canis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Coccidioides immitis, Babesia canis, Babesia gibsoni, Mycoplasma haemocanis and plasma levels of von Willebrand factor. All donor animals must be current on immunizations for canine distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, leptospirosis, parvovirus, Bordatella, coronavirus and rabies virus as applicable. Keywords: Hemorrhage control; whole blood products; whole blood substitutes; oxygen carriers; canine; military working dog CMMC Level: Level 1