apheresis
Meaning of apheresis: Apheresis is a procedure that separates and collects a specific blood component while returning the remaining blood to the donor or patient.
Definition of apheresis
Apheresis is a medical procedure in which blood is withdrawn from a person, passed through a machine that separates it into its component parts, and then returned to the body with one specific component removed or collected, while the remaining components are given back. The component collected can include platelets, white blood cells, plasma, or stem cells, depending on the purpose of the procedure.
Apheresis is used both to collect components for donation, such as platelets or plasma given to another patient, and as a treatment in its own right, such as removing harmful antibodies from the plasma of a person with certain autoimmune conditions or collecting a patient's own stem cells before a transplant procedure.
Because only the targeted component is removed and the rest of the blood is returned, a person undergoing apheresis generally does not lose the same volume of whole blood that would be lost during a standard blood donation, allowing more frequent donation of the specific component being collected.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The patient underwent apheresis to collect stem cells prior to transplantation.
Good to know
Apheresis differs from a standard whole blood donation in that only a specific blood component is removed while the rest is returned, which is why apheresis donations can generally be given more frequently.
Word origin
Where “apheresis” comes from
Formed from Greek aphairesis, meaning a taking away, from apo-, meaning away, and hairein, meaning to take or seize.