Effects of plasmapheresis frequency on health status and exercise performance in men: A randomized controlled trial.

Background And Objectives: Most research studies on the effects of repeated plasma donation are observational with different study limitations, resulting in high uncertainty on the link between repeated plasma donation and health consequences. Here, we prospectively investigated the safety of intensive or less intensive plasma donation protocols.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-three male subjects participated in this randomized controlled trial and were divided into low-frequency (LF, once/month, n = 16), high-frequency (HF, three times/month, n = 16), very high-frequency (VHF, two times/week, n = 16) and a placebo (P, once/month, n = 15) groups.