Versiti - Therapeutic Services
 

Therapeutic Apheresis & Cellular Therapy

Apheresis procedures to treat a variety of diseases, stem cell collections and coordination of blood donations.

Therapeutic Services


Our expert nurses are available 24/7 to perform therapeutic apheresis procedures for a variety of patients, including pediatric and critically ill patients. Every procedure is overseen by our experienced physician team, which assists with patient evaluation and offers guidance for hospital physicians who provide patient care for these specialized procedures.

During plasma exchange therapy, a patient’s plasma is removed and replaced with 5% albumin, saline and/or donated plasma. TPE is used for a wide range of indications, including TTP, antibody-mediated syndromes in neurology, nephrology and hematology, and organ transplantation.

Performed at:

  • Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin
  • Versiti Blood Center of Michigan

A procedure in which abnormal red blood cells (RBCs) are removed and replaced with donated RBCs. RBCX is performed for acute episodes and chronic management in sickle cell disease and in the case of certain infections (e.g., malaria and babesiosis) in which RBCs are damaged.

Performed at:

  • Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin
  • Versiti Blood Center of Michigan

During this procedure, an excessive amount of white blood cells is rapidly removed in disease causing hyperleukocytosis, such as leukemia, which may cause complications such as stroke, respiratory failure and/or renal failure.

Performed at:

  • Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin
  • Versiti Blood Center of Michigan

A procedure in which an excessive amount of platelets is rapidly removed in diseases like essential thrombocytosis, which may cause complications, such as stroke or heart attack.

Performed at:

  • Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin
  • Versiti Blood Center of Michigan

A procedure in which white blood cells are separated from a patient’s blood and treated with a medication called Methoxsalen, which makes them sensitive to ultraviolet light. The treated white blood cells are exposed to ultraviolet light and returned to the patient. Photopheresis may be used to treat graft vs. host disease, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and organ transplant rejection.

Performed at:

  • Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin
  • Versiti Blood Center of Michigan

A procedure in which LDL cholesterol is rapidly removed for chronic treatment of hypercholesterolemia.

Performed at:

  • Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin

A procedure in which HPCs (immature white blood cells) are removed from an autologous or allogenic donor. The donor is mobilized with medications to help increase the production of white blood cells in the bone marrow.

A procedure in which MNCs (lymphocytes and monocytes) are removed from an autologous or allogenic donor. For autologous collections, the cells may be engineered (per independent lab protocols) to develop an individualized cancer treatment.

  • MNC collections for dendreon for development of provenge (sipuleucel-T) for treatment of prostate cancer
  • MNC collections for novel cell therapies