First time in Estonia passed blood transfusion, passed from one bird to another, saved the life of White-tailed Eagle

In January 11 a sick White-tailed Eagle was taken to the hospital of Estonian Land University and to save its life, blood from a donor eagle was used. Today the sick bird is recovering and is taking solid food already. While the most critical period is over, odds are that this White-tailed Eagle will once go back to wild again.

 Photo: Eesti Maaülikool. Source: delfi.ee

Madis Leivits, a vet from the Land University told, that the bird was found somewhere in the surrounds of Kuusalu. “The arriving bird was in a really lousy condition, head was turned onto the back, it could hardly stand and the preliminary checkup revealed, that the bird was exceptionally light and practically without any musculature.” Blood samples showed very critical picture, something, that even the vets hadn’t seen before. The exact medical history is not known this very moment, but it can be expected that the bird was exposed to some kind of poison, contamination, contagious disease or the reason was victual. All earlier experiences from Estonia and worldwide suggested, that a sick bird in such a bad condition should be put down. However, Estonian vets tried something unconventional. “We decided to try out blood transfusion from another bird, as another bird was just available for this quick procedure and so we gave the blood of one bird to another,” said Leivits.

The eagle has left the intensive care by now and the post-transfusion period has been going fine. “Our goal is to let the bird back to the wild again, where it can carry on its activities,” told the vet.

Watch the video of the eagle under the treatment...