Therapeutic Apheresis Services

by Carter BloodCare Specialty Services

Celebrating Our Clinical Apheresis Nurses

To be honest, we’re celebrating all nurses who work tirelessly to improve the lives of the patients they serve. We were thankful to recognize their contributions during National Nurses Week and particularly during the COVID pandemic.

We have a special place in our hearts for the nurses performing apheresis procedures.

Therapeutic Apheresis for Disease Treatment and Clinical Research

Therapeutic apheresis plays a significant role in the treatment of many diseases, as well as, the research of cutting-edge therapies. Since 1984, medical facilities throughout North Texas have relied on our apheresis services to treat their patients.

  • Plasma exchange is performed in adult and pediatric treatments; including neurology, nephrology, hematology, oncology and patients who are on extracorporeal circuits.

  • Red cell exchange is primarily for the treatment of sickle cell disease, yet is also utilized in the treatment of babesiosis and some cases of severe malaria.

  • Photopheresis services are provided to treat graft versus host disease (GvHD) and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

  • Platelet depletion used to treat essential thrombocythemia, and leukocyte depletion is performed in the treatment of leukocytosis which may be seen with leukemia.

  • Other services provided

    • Cellular therapy collections include autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic peripheral blood stem cells, mononuclear cells, and donor lymphocytes; which can be used in the research of leading-edge therapies.

    • Therapeutic phlebotomy is available for in-hospital patients with a physician’s order.

Commonly Asked Questions:

Who supplies the equipment?Carter BloodCare supplies all of the equipment necessary to perform apheresis procedures, unless specific equipment is needed that we currently do not have in inventory. We have the Optia® mobile system, which is delivered onsite when the procedure is requested by one of our 200+ hospital partners.

What guidelines does Carter BloodCare follow?

Carter BloodCare uses the guidelines set forth by the American Society for Apheresis (ASFA). The diagnoses are divided into categories: I, II and III. CBC treats category I and II, and we are able to treat level III with Carter BloodCare medical director approval.

How does a healthcare provider schedule a therapeutic service with Carter BloodCare? A physician or a hospital representative can reach a member of our team 24/7 by calling (972) 788-0650 for scheduling urgent and routine procedures.

If you need therapeutic apheresis services, we stand ready to serve. For general inquiries, please email HospitalRelations@carterbloodcare.org.