No, your vet does not need to take a sample of your pet’s fat tissue. Since most dogs with IMHA are too ill to tolerate surgery, we keep stem cells on hand, ready to ship. Safari stem cells are taken from abdominal fatty tissue of donor dogs in our hospital who come in for routine spays. They are young, healthy dogs whose stem cells are vibrant and reproduce quickly. We keep the cells alive in our lab until they are shipped and do not freeze them. These cells are universally donatable without issue and are put through viability checks and live cell counts to be sure the dose is correct for your pet.