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Plasmapheresis

Plasmapheresis, also known as therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), is a nonsurgical therapy that removes and replaces a patient's blood plasma. 

The Apheresis Program at Mobile Apreresis is the most established outpatient therapeutic plasmapheresis center in South Florida.

Plasmapheresis involves removing blood through a needle or catheter and circulating it through a machine where the blood is separated into red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma. The plasma, which is the fluid content of the blood, is discarded and replaced with a substitution fluid (mainly albumin solution). The substitute plasma and the patient's own blood cells (red cells, white cells and platelets) are returned to the patient through a return needle.

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What Does Plasmapheresis Treat?

• Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) 
• Myasthenia Gravis
• Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) 
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Guillain-Barre Syndrome
• Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) 
• Goodpasture's Syndrome
• Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis (RPGN) 
• Systemic Vasculitis 
• Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP)
• Transplant sensitization 
• Transplant rejection (antibody type) 
• Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia 
• Hyperviscosity syndrome 
• Recurring focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) 
• Other rarer diseases

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Potential Side Effects

Plasmapheresis is a safe procedure with a few possible side effects. You may have discomfort at the needle site and occasional fatigue, low blood pressure, dizziness, feeling cold and tingling in the fingers and around the mouth. Notify your nurse immediately if you experience any of these symptoms.