Effects of Intensive Plasmapheresis

I N 1914 Abel2 described the technic of plasmapheresis in animals and demonstrated that very large amounts of plasma could be withdrawn if the red cells were re-transfused. Since that time, the technic of plasmapheresis has l)een used extensively in the research laboratory for the study of protein metabolism and more recently has been introduced as an alternate form of l)lOod donation in humans.3 It has been shown repeatedly that plasmaphere-sis, I)y returning the red cells to the donor, allows the individual donor to pro-duce far larger amounts of plasma than would be the case if ordinary means of whole blood donation were 67 While plasma itself is a valuable biological product, plasmpheresis is also useful for producing platelets. The resultant platelet-rich plasma is a useful product for replacement transfusion therapy of thrombocytopenia.9 It is antici-pated that plasmapheresis will he used increasingly as a source of supply for plasma and platelets. At present, two systems of plasmapheresis are in use in the United States