Therapeutic Apheresis Center For Children
06.09.2022

Therapeutic Apheresis: Apheresis refers to 'separating' and therapeutic refers to 'treating'. Apheresis is used to explain multifarious processes of removing whole blood, separating the blood components, collecting one or more components or exchanging for treatment. Therapeutic Apheresis processes as well as Apheresis Donation are carried out in our Apheresis Center.

 

Apheresis Process is performed by apheresis machines. Basically;

 

1. Blood is drawn from the body through apheresis machine (blood separation) with the help of a needle or catheter

 

2. During this process, anticoagulant medicines are involved in blood to prevent blood clots.

 

3. The component or cell to be separated from blood is separated by the machine and passed through a bag.

 

4. Remaining blood in the blood separator apparatus is re-transfused the patient/donor through a catheter or a second vascular access

 

5. Sets used in the machines are unboxed for each patient/donor privately as it is sterile and it is eliminated. Apheresis procedures may take 1 to 6 hours approximately.

Apheresis Process is determined by the clinic / ward physician who identifies indication and executive apheresis physician together.

 

Patients and donors are referred to our Apheresis Center by the related departments. The procedures are planned by examination and vascular access control of the patients and donors consulted. Patient/Donor is closely monitorized by an apheresis nurse for potential complications during apheresis process. Eating is recommended before when apheresis process is planned for the patient/donor.

 

THERAPEUTIC APHERESIS TYPES

 

1. DONOR APHERESIS (collecting blood component from a healthy donor)

 

    plasmapheresis                                     cytapheresis

 

    plateletpheresis                                   erythrocytapheresis

 

    granulocyte apheresis                              lymphocyte apheresis

 

2-) THERAPEUTIC APHERESIS (treatment-oriented process for patients)

 

    cytapheresis                           Therapeutic leukopheresis

 

    Therapeutic erythrocyte exchange       Therapeutic plateletpheresis

 

    Therapeutic Plasma Exchange (TPE)      extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP)

 

    Therapeutic Phlebotomy

 

3-) Peripheral Stem Cell Apheresis

Autologous stem cell collection  allogenic stem cell collection

Apheresis process is applied to treat many diseases today such as;

Neurological Diseases

Hematological Diseases

Renal and Rheumatic Diseases

Liver and Kidney Diseases

Skin Diseases                                                     

Chronic Intestinal Diseases

Mushroom, carbon monoxide poisoning and medicinal poisoning       

Heart Diseases

Infectious Diseases                                              

Familial High Cholesterol

Apheresis protocols are executed in the treatment of developed complications during preparation or after organ and stem cell transplants.

Children's Hospital Therapeutic Apheresis Center is located inside MHC (Main Mass) Children's Chemotherapy Unit.