apheresis
From the Greek ‘aphairesis’ meaning ‘removal’. The process of ‘skimming off’ the stem cells from the blood to be used for transplant or stored in frozen form until needed. This occurs through an apheresis machine that filters the blood, gradually separating and collecting the stem cells and progressively returning the processed blood to the person. Stem cells are usually not seen in the blood stream and so special drugs are used to mobilise the stem cells to move from their normal place in the bone marrow into the blood stream.
Last updated on April 17th, 2023
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