One of our newest green sea turtle patients, Monkey, recently underwent a life-saving procedure at our Sea Turtle Healing Center with some help from an old friend. 

While Monkey did arrive at our Healing Center slightly anemic, the turtle’s packed cell volume (PCV), or the number of red blood cells, quickly dropped from 13 to 5 percent. Any reading under 10 can be a life-threatening situation, and Monkey needed an emergency blood transfusion. Our team needed to find a turtle that could donate enough blood and was an appropriate cross match. Cross matching is a series of tests (typically three) performed on both the donor and recipient’s blood to ensure they are compatible. We had one turtle, Flint, who could provide blood for Monkey, but they were too small to be able to supply enough. So, our team drew about 30 milliliters of blood from Flint to hold Monkey over until more could arrive from a trusty turtle.  

During her two-and-a-half year stay with us, McNubbins the green sea turtle provided several of our sea turtle patients, and patients in other facilities, with lifesaving blood donations. McNubbins is temporarily living at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Florida, while we build her permanent home – the future Bowen Aquarium. Gumbo Limbo staff graciously drew 100 milliliters of blood from McNubbins. The Sea Turtle Preservation Society, based in Brevard County, and drove the 5-hour roundtrip to bring the blood to the Healing Center. McNubbins’ blood cross matched as expected, and Monkey was able to receive the transfusion. The procedure went well, and along with some medication, we expect Monkey to recover well.  

While not a lot is known about sea turtle blood types, our veterinary team jokes that McNubbins must be a universal donor. Our team has conducted research on advancing blood transfusion medicine and cross-matching in sea turtles. Our former veterinarian, Dr. Kyle Donnelly, has a published research study in the “Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine,” and our current veterinarian intern, Dr. Lauren Shusterman, has a study in the same journal being published in June of this year.  

We will continue to provide updates on Monkey’s ongoing rehabilitation and hopefully an eventual release back to the ocean.  

Have you found a sea turtle that needs help? Visit this page or call the Sea Turtle Preservation Society at 321-206-0646. Want to help the Sea Turtle Healing Center? Support our Zoo, or view our Healing Center’s wishlist.