Guidelines for apheresis personnel--an overview

The Guidelines for Apheresis Specialists were prepared by the Standards Committee of the Society of Hemopheresis Specialists (SHS) in response to a need to safeguard donors and patients undergoing apheresis from the viewpoint of the technical staff performing the procedures. The Guidelines address technical and administrative topics not covered by instrument manufacturer's training sessions and manuals. The Guidelines contain the following objectives: To assure that apheresis procedures are performed and supervised by qualified personnel, thereby safeguarding the donors, patients and recipients of the components harvested. To assure that apheresis procedures are carried out in a safe, efficient and appropriate manner with minimum risk and maximum benefit. To assure donor/patient safety and high quality component preparation through an effective quality control program. The Guidelines are flexible, adaptable to various physical settings, applicable to different types of instruments, and useful for both therapeutic and donor hemopheresis procedures. They avoid references to issues that may be considered to interfere with internal or external policymaking bodies. In addition, they provide a base from which policies and procedures can be formulated and amended to account for advances in technology and expertise.