Blood is made up of four components:
- Red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body.
- White blood cells, which help to prevent and fight infections.
- Platelets, small particles which help the blood to clot.
- Plasma, the liquid part of the blood in which many proteins and other substances are dissolved.
Apheresis is a medical procedure that involves removing whole blood from a patient and separating the blood into individual components so that one particular component can be removed. The remaining blood components then are re-introduced back into the bloodstream of the patient.
Therapeutic Apheresis is used for the treatment of certain medical conditions in which a part of the blood that contains disease-provoking elements is removed. Apheresis is also called pheresis or hemapheresis. The procedure is done in a clinic or hospital.