A wonderful way to treat diseases with your own blood: Everything about Plasmapheresis and Plasma Exchange

The blood in our body is a wonderful thing, isn't it? It contains red cells, white cells, and many other things. Among these, the liquid part of the blood is called 'plasma'. Sometimes, due to a disease in our own body, this plasma can cause problems. At such times, we are going to talk about a special treatment method that removes that problematic plasma and purifies the blood.

Let's first see, what is this plasma?

Simply put, plasma is the light yellow liquid part of our blood. More than half of our blood is made up of plasma. Although it is mostly water, it also contains many essential substances that our bodies need. In particular, proteins and electrolytes , which are dissolved salts.

Imagine that our body is like a country. Then some of the proteins in this plasma are like the army in that country. They protect us from enemies like viruses and bacteria that come from outside. We also call these antibodies . Another type of protein helps stop bleeding when there is a wound. So you can see how important plasma is, right?

So what are plasmapheresis and plasma exchange?

These two names are somewhat similar, so it can be a bit confusing. Let's keep it simple.

• Plasmapheresis: This involves separating only the plasma from the blood. This method is often used to take plasma from a healthy person (donor plasma) and treat another patient.

• Plasma Exchange: This is the most commonly used treatment method. What happens here is that the problematic, disease-causing plasma in your body is removed and replaced with good plasma or an equally good liquid. It is like removing some dirty water and adding clean water. In this article, we will mainly talk about this Plasma Exchange treatment.

What diseases can be cured with this treatment?

Plasma Exchange is a treatment used to treat a number of conditions. In particular, it can be effective in treating autoimmune diseases, blood disorders, and some types of cancer.

What happens before and during treatment?

Preparation before treatment

If your doctor prescribes this treatment for you, he or she will tell you things like this to prepare you for it.

• Drink plenty of non-carbonated beverages (water, fruit drinks) for about three days before treatment.
• Eat a light meal about an hour before the treatment, without feeling hungry.
• Come in comfortable, loose clothing. Since the treatment will last several hours, it's a good idea to bring something to read, such as a book or a phone to listen to music.
• You may feel a little tired after the treatment, so it may be difficult to drive. Therefore, it is essential to bring someone to take you home.

During treatment

The steps involved in Plasma Exchange treatment are very simple.

1. First, a doctor or nurse will put an IV line in a vein in your arm. They may also put a central line catheter in a large vein in your neck or groin.

2. Then, a small amount of blood is slowly withdrawn from your body through it.

3. The blood is sent to a special machine, where only the plasma is separated.

4. The problematic plasma that caused your condition is removed .

5. Then, a special liquid such as new plasma or albumin is added to the remaining red cells and white cells.

6. Finally, this cleaned blood is put back into your body through that same cannula.

Is this painful? Are there any risks?

A question that many people have is whether this will hurt. No, this is not a painful treatment. However, you may feel a slight stinging sensation when the cannula is inserted into your arm. Some people may experience the following during the treatment:

• Feeling like your hands and feet are tingling
• Feeling nauseous
• A feeling of sadness
• Feeling cold

If you feel something like this, you should tell the doctor or nurse there right away. They know simple things you can do.

Although plasma exchange is a very safe treatment, there are some side effects that can occur very rarely.

• Hypocalcemia: This occurs because calcium can be lost during treatment. It is treated with intravenous calcium.
• Hypothermia: The body may feel cold due to the fluids being returned to it. This can be controlled by giving warm fluids or wrapping the body in a blanket.
• Hypotension: If necessary, saline or other fluids are given.

Are dialysis and this plasma therapy the same thing?

Some people get confused because both of these are blood-purifying methods. However, they both have two purposes.

• Dialysis: This is done for people whose kidneys are not working properly. Dialysis involves filtering waste products from the blood that the kidneys are unable to remove.

• Plasma Exchange: This does not remove waste products from the body. It removes harmful disease-causing proteins or antibodies contained in the blood plasma .

Simply put, dialysis is the process of removing 'waste' from the blood. Plasma exchange is the process of capturing and removing the 'bad guys' (harmful proteins) from the blood.

How long you feel relief after treatment depends on your condition. For example, someone with Myasthenia Gravis may be symptom-free for months after a few weeks of treatment.

Plasma therapy, Plasmapheresis, Plasma Exchange, Blood purification, Autoimmune diseases, Myasthenia gravis, Gilen-Barre syndrome