Plasmapheresis Procedures | Blood Transfusions | Exchange of Blood Plasma

What is Plasmapheresis?

Plasmapheresis is the procedure which is done to exchange the plasma present in the blood with fresh plasma substitute or plasma from a donor. Plasmapheresis or plasma exchange process broadly involves the following steps:

Whole blood is taken out from the person’s body.
The liquid part or plasma is separated from the blood that contains white blood cells and replaced with fresh plasma substitute or plasma from the donor.
The replaced plasma along with the patient’s blood is transfused back into the body.

When is a plasmapheresis performed?

This procedure may be recommended as a primary or secondary line of treatment if either of the below condition are present:

Autoimmune diseases such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and Myasthenia gravis
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
Fulminant Wilson disease
Hyper viscosity syndrome
Hemolytic uremic syndrome
Hyper-triglyceridemic pancreatitis
RBC alloimmunization during pregnancy

Plasmapheresis removes the circulating auto-antibodies present in the blood. The autoantibodies may sometimes attack and damage the body’s own tissues and cells. The procedure is also used to remove metabolic substances and toxins from the blood.

How is Plasmapheresis done?

Blood is withdrawn from the patient’s body to the apheresis machine through one of the catheter tubes. After the blood enters the machine, the blood cells will be segregated from the plasma.
The machine works in two ways:
- In the first process, the blood cells will be segregated from the plasma by rotating the blood at very high speed (centrifugation).
- In the second process, the blood cells get segregated from the plasma by special membrane. The membrane has tiny pores which filters the plasma by leaving behind the blood cells.
The blood cells will then reconstitute with the plasma substitute or donor plasma. The new reconstituted blood is then transfused back into the person’s body through other catheter tube.

A single plasmapheresis treatment will last for about 1-3 hrs. The length of procedure depends on the patient’s body size and the amount of plasma that is required to get exchanged. The patient should take appropriate rest for a short period after the treatment. The patient may require 2-3 treatments for each week.

What are the precautions that need to be taken after the procedure?

Notify the doctor if you have symptoms like seizures, irregular heartbeat, abdominal pain, wheezing, chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, fever, chills, fainting, joint pain with fatigue, and excessive itching or rashes.
Take enough rest and drink plenty of fluids.
Take well-balanced diet as suggested by the physician.

Quick Enquiry

Name *

Mobile number *

Email *

Message *

Doctors

Dr. Sushma Rani Raju

Senior Consultant - Nephrology

Appointment

Dr. Gowrugari Venu Madhav

Senior Consultant Nephrology

Appointment

View All

Testimonials

Doctors, hospitality and treatment at Sakra was amazing

Words of Heart

I live in Kala Pahar, Guwahati, Assam and have two grandchild. Their names are Bitumoni Kalita

My father was suffering from frequent mild headaches and blurred vision due to tumour in the head. After surgery,

Dr. Sushma Rani, Dr. Venu Reddy & Dialysis Team

THANK YOU For being on the front lines of care, your kindness,

Treatment: Kidney Transplant

Name: Sanpreeth Singh

“in 2007 I was diagnosed with hypertension during a regular health checkup. I was prescribed hypertensive medicines but I did

Treatment: Regular Health Checkup

Location: Bangalore

“It is going to be 2 years and 5 months now since I am on Dialysis. I have been a

Treatment: Regular Health Checkup

Location: Bangalore

‹ ›

Blogs related to

What You Need to Know About Kidney Transplant

The kidneys are parts of your body whose function is to filter and remove excess waste, minerals and fluid and regulate blood pressure. However, there are situations when your kidney is unable to perform this

Read More

Obesity and Kidney Diseases

Kidney Disease is often thought to be a rare occurrence and one can really not see it coming as in most of the cases 90% of the kidney function is already lost by the time

Read More

8 Golden Rules To Keep Your Kidneys Healthy

The kidneys are bean-shaped organs, each roughly the size of a fist. They are two in number and located one on each side of the backbone deep in the abdominal cavity, beneath the rib cage.

Kidneys

Read More

View more blogs