The Iranian Blood Transfusion, Donor Safety Program: Effect of Long-term Plasmapheresis on Plasma Proteins

Plasmapheresis is a well-recognised method for harvesting plasma. It was introduced in the 1950s and is currently employed worldwide. This method has been in use in Iran since 1979. To evaluate the efficacy of donor safety program used at the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization. A comparison is made of the protein concentrations between the first-time and long-term plasmapheresis donors, using protein gel electrophoresis. The effect of vaccination for collection of hyper-immune plasma was also studied.Results/ Our data comprising a 10-year evaluation of the current programmes, demonstrates no significant difference between the groups studied. This indicates safety of the plasmapheresis procedures in plasma procurement.