Donor safety in plasmapheresis

Whereas European authorities stipulate that a plasmapheresis donor should not give more than about 250 ml of plasma per week, American regulations continue to sanction a weekly "harvesting" volume of 1000 ml. The latter volume equals one third of a donor's plasma volume, and the loss of plasma proteins are identical with those of a patient suffering from a severe nephrotic syndrome. Accordingly, such donors develop hypoproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia, hypogammaglobulinemia, and abnormal electrophoretic patterns. Recent data give cause for concern with respect to evidence for an increased aggregating tendency of platelets. Pending the clarification of these problems, the necessary quantities of plasma should be procured by increasing the number of donors sufficiently to respect the European volume limitations.