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Apheresis is a medical procedure based on the principle of separating specific components of blood for therapeutic or donation purposes. During this process, a person's blood is drawn through a specialized device, desired components (such as plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets) are separated, and the remaining blood components are returned to the body.
Apheresis plays a significant role in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, certain types of cancer, and various blood disorders. It is also widely used for collecting blood components like platelets or plasma through donation.
The main types of apheresis include:
Leukapheresis: Applied to remove excessive or abnormal white blood cells from the blood. This helps manage the uncontrolled proliferation of white blood cells, especially in conditions like leukemia.
Photopheresis (Extracorporeal Photopheresis - ECP): A procedure where lymphocytes are taken out of the body, exposed to ultraviolet A (UVA) light, and then returned to the body. This method is used to modulate the immune system, particularly in the treatment of certain autoimmune diseases and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).
Plasmapheresis: The separation of plasma from the blood, typically involving the replacement of plasma containing harmful antibodies or toxins with new plasma or a plasma substitute. It is applied for autoimmune diseases and for removing harmful substances from the plasma.
Thrombapheresis (Plateletpheresis): The selective separation of platelets from the blood. This procedure is used for platelet donation or when excessively high platelet levels need to be reduced (thrombocythemia).
Erythrapheresis: The separation of red blood cells (erythrocytes) from the blood. It is used in the treatment of diseases characterized by an excess of red blood cells, such as polycythemia, or in certain situations requiring specific transfusions.
What is Apheresis?
Apheresis plays a significant role in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, certain types of cancer, and various blood disorders. It is also widely used for collecting blood components like platelets or plasma through donation.
The main types of apheresis include:
Leukapheresis: Applied to remove excessive or abnormal white blood cells from the blood. This helps manage the uncontrolled proliferation of white blood cells, especially in conditions like leukemia.
Photopheresis (Extracorporeal Photopheresis - ECP): A procedure where lymphocytes are taken out of the body, exposed to ultraviolet A (UVA) light, and then returned to the body. This method is used to modulate the immune system, particularly in the treatment of certain autoimmune diseases and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).
Plasmapheresis: The separation of plasma from the blood, typically involving the replacement of plasma containing harmful antibodies or toxins with new plasma or a plasma substitute. It is applied for autoimmune diseases and for removing harmful substances from the plasma.
Thrombapheresis (Plateletpheresis): The selective separation of platelets from the blood. This procedure is used for platelet donation or when excessively high platelet levels need to be reduced (thrombocythemia).
Erythrapheresis: The separation of red blood cells (erythrocytes) from the blood. It is used in the treatment of diseases characterized by an excess of red blood cells, such as polycythemia, or in certain situations requiring specific transfusions.