Basics of apheresis and equipment.

Apheresis is a method of obtaining one or more blood components by machine processing of whole blood in which the residual components are returned to the donor or patient during or at the end of the process. To achieve this, the desired blood component is separated from the whole blood using centrifugal, filtration and or adsorption techniques. Although the apheresis equipment from various manufacturers look from the outside very different, the working is rather similar with separation in a one-use disposable, connected with bacterial filters to the machine, and various safety features to achieve optimal safety for donor / patient, operator and product.

Therapeutic plasma apheresis: Expertise and indications.

Therapeutic apheresis is an extracorporeal treatment that is capable of removing pathogenic blood components from patients that causes morbidity. In this review an overview is given of the types of indications for which therapeutic plasma exchange is effective. Furthermore, practical and effective topics, as well as complications will be discussed.

Performance of an apheresis procedure: The apheresis nurse-operator and nursing aspects.

Thousands of apheresis procedures are performed on a daily basis. Procedures such as plasmapheresis in donors are of shorter procedure time, but others will take many hours. Operators usually learn to operate the apheresis machine, but more and more attention needs to be paid to the non-technical aspects of an apheresis procedure.

Calculations in apheresis.

It's important to work smoothly with your apheresis equipment when you are an apheresis nurse. Attention should be paid to your donor/patient and the product you're collecting. It gives additional value to your work when you are able to calculate the efficiency of your procedures.