title: [Therapeutic erythrocytapheresis: technical aspects and clinical applications].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Therapeutic erythrocytapheresis is a selective red cell-depletion aphaeresis technique.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Using a discontinuous or continuous flow blood cell separator, the technique safely allows quickly and automatically collecting a large volume of red cells. The main obstacle of implementation is a poor peripheral venous access. The procedure is well-tolerated. Polycythemia vera, hereditary hemochromatosis, complicated sickle-cell-disease and retinal venous occlusion are the main clinical applications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Therapeutic erythrocytapheresis is a more modern and more effective method than the classic patient-bleeding. It has to be preferred in the early treatment of patients with polycythemia vera and hereditary hemochromatosis.
authors.affiliation: Service d'hémaphérèse et d'autotransfusion, hôpital de la Conception, 13385 Marseille cedex 05, France. pascale.poullin@ap-hm.fr
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poullin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lefèvre
mesh_terms: D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000628:therapy; D001781:Blood Component Removal; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011086:Polycythemia / Q000628:therapy; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000628:therapy