Australia's Science Forum

Hi we have a student who's mother is a vet and has offered to bring in a dog to take a blood sample then centrifuge it to see the seperation. I was wondering if anyone knows if there would be a problem, or regulations in doing this. The dog would only be in for a period, so it wont be housed or fed. Our Bio teacher is very keen and it would be interesting for the kids to see as well. Any info, as always, greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Lisa

You would need to check the Animals in Schools regulations. I know here we have to sign a form to get approval for any vertebrate animals. This includes junior school teachers who have kids that might bring in a rabbit for news. They still have to sign it. It is valid for a year though, I think. As long as it was a demonstration I don't think there'd be an issue with it. I don't think the kids are supposed to handle actual blood anymore. I am sure the kids would find it very interesting to see how the blood separates though. I hope you are able to do it. I think the head teacher would be the one to make the final decision.

We used orange juice (make sure it's one with bits in it) to demonstrate the way a centrifuge works. It isn't great because it can still be hard to see the layers, but it's better than nothing. Certainly using real blood would be better - both to see the effects of the centrifuge and also the properties of blood. I'll probably try to find something better than orange juice for next year (we've only had a centrifuge this year).

When the teacher does the Risk Assessment, make sure that they cover all possibilities.
Very kind of the vet to offer to do that.
However, rememeber top consider the Animals in Schools... Welfare aspect of the dog...as well as that no student touches any blood....demo... disposal etc.

Do any of the students have allergies to dog?
personally, if it was my dog, I would not be bring Rover in to have blood taken for a non medical reason!

I think that you can ask that your concerns be covered in the RA, but if its not your call, then leave it to someone higher up the food chain to make the decisions...your teacher/HOD, including that Animals in School Officer

hmmm interesting.
let us know what was the outcome.
Lada

hi
It is the Principals final decsion and it would be treated as if ......the mobile zoo truck was coming to school for example.The usual paperwork needs to be filled out first tho.
M

Just remember the basic principle, sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission!

Thanks everyone, checked out the Animals in Schools site(very good site, easy to navigate around too), printed the appropriate info and forms, handed them to Bio teach, he decided that maybe we wont go that way with the dog, which I am more than ok with, cos doing any unneccessary procedure is not in the animals best interest. he is going to try alternatives.
Cheers
Lisa

You can buy blood.. check with your local TAFE or Uni.
Or go with the fake blood recipe