Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a pygmy hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis).

A captive, 31-yr-old, intact male pygmy hippopotamus presented with nonspecific signs of weight loss, inappetence, diarrhea, and lethargy. After 5 wk of diagnostic investigation and symptomatic treatment, an acute leukemic process with concurrent polycystic kidney disease was suspected. The animal's condition continued to deteriorate prompting euthanasia.

Use of sentinel sites for daily monitoring of the US blood supply.

Background: This report describes the first year of a government-sponsored program that uses daily reports from 29 sentinel sites to monitor the capacity of the US blood supply to meet demand.

Study Design And Methods: From August 15, 2001, to August 14, 2002, 29 sentinel sites provided daily reports of the number of units of RBCs in inventory, transfused, exported, and outdated by ABO and Rh, and platelets by random or apheresis donor. Days supply of each component category was calculated as the number of units in inventory reported on a day divided by the sum of units transfused, exported, and outdated on that day.