Safety and Long‐term Effects of Plasmapheresis

No consistent clinical or laboratory value abnormalities were found during more than six years of plasmapheresis of donors who gave as much as the plasma equivalent of four units of whole blood per week. Potential hazards to the plasmapheresis donor, including hemoglobin depletion, protein depletion, iron depletion, and misidentification of blood returned to the donor are discussed. In addition to affording an economic and efficient opportunity to expand component therapy, repeated plasmapheresis of a small pool of preselected donors can provide a better quality product than that obtained from random donors.