Therapeutic Apheresis

A medical procedure using automated cell separation technology to treat patients. A medical device is generally taken to the patient’s bedside (or sometimes the patient is treated as an outpatient) and blood is withdrawn and separated into components in a sterile tubing set. A part of the blood containing harmful elements is removed and the rest of the blood re-combined and returned to the patient. Most commonly the plasma is removed, but sometimes abnormal cells can be removed.