The Denver Zoo(NEW YORK) — A newborn giraffe is recovering after undergoing a plasma infusion to bolster his immune system.
The giraffe named “Dobby” was born at the Denver Zoo on Feb. 28, but he’s had multiple health issues in the days since his birth, including problems feeding, standing and a weakened immune system.
The zoo first discovered something was wrong just a day after he was born when staffers realized via bloodwork that he had not received enough infection-fighting proteins from his mother in utero.
To help Dobby get better, staffers gave the not-so-tiny newborn extra feeding and an infusion of plasma collected from a nearby zoo.
“We remain optimistic that Dobby’s health will improve,” Denver Zoo associate veterinarian Betsy Stringer said in a statement. “However, we are taking his condition seriously. We have also provided Dobby with antibiotics to treat infection in his system and are monitoring his blood daily.”
Dobby was able to get the plasma, taken from the blood of other giraffes, after staff at the nearby Cheyenne Mountain Zoo trained giraffes to hold still for blood draws. By having enough blood on hand, they were able to donate the plasma to help Dobby. The blood was processed by a veterinary blood processing center before it was administered to Dobby.
“Because of the great training by our animal care staff, we have several giraffes that are now trained to voluntarily give blood donations,” Dr. Liza Dadone, VP of Mission and Programs, said in a statement today. “We were already able to replenish our giraffe plasma bank, just in case of any emergencies with our herd.”
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