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Pheresis, also known as apheresis, is a medical procedure that involves removing and separating blood components for medical reasons. It can be used to collect blood components from a donor or to remove blood from a sick person. The procedure can involve removing plasma, leukocytes, or platelets, depending on the medical condition. Apheresis donors are needed in many communities, and the procedure requires the same vetting as whole blood donors.
Pheresis is more commonly referred to as apheresis and can be known by many other names. It is a procedure in medicine that involves taking blood, separating it into certain elements and reintegrating most of it into the body. This could be medically indicated for a variety of reasons. Pheresis is sometimes used to collect some blood components from a donor, and other times it is used to temporarily or permanently remove some blood from a sick person as a treatment.
Blood has many components and advances in science have found ways to break down these components as they are removed from the body. It is then possible to simply extract the platelets from the blood, or to extract the blood plasma or blood fluid. Alternatively, the white blood cells can be separated from the blood. Whether the intent of apheresis is to donate a single aspect of blood or to remove it, the procedure typically involves removing some of the whole blood and returning some or most of it to the body.
The name can become more specific depending on the type of blood product being removed. The removal of plasma voluntarily or out of medical need is called plasmapheresis. The separation of leukocytes, which are a type of white blood cell, is referred to as leukapheresis, and the removal of platelets is typically referred to as plateletpheresis.
There could be a number of reasons why removing and separating blood products is considered a treatment, and the blood element removed can vary based on which aspect of the blood is most involved in the disease. Some conditions that might require pheresis of different forms included extremely high familial hereditary cholesterol, a variety of autoimmune diseases that result in abnormally high white blood cell counts, and conditions that result in very high platelet counts such as thrombocytopenia.
Other times sick people benefit from the donation of a single blood product. Platelets that are donated via apheresis from someone else can be used to help fight the loss of platelets caused by cancer treatment. Blood plasma is sometimes preferred over whole blood during certain types of surgery, and the list is quite extensive.
There is a need in many communities for apheresis donors. Apheresis procedures can take a little longer than simply donating blood and can be performed in different locations than blood donor centers, although this is not always the case. People who qualify to donate are usually subjected to the same vetting as whole blood donors and will go through screening to establish health conditions or medications that may disqualify them from donating. Many people never learn about this procedure until family members get sick. In these cases, healthy members of a family may be called upon to donate to help a sick relative or to understand the need for the procedure as a form of medical treatment.
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