Apheresis

Apheresis designates the therapeutic or collection procedure extracting whole blood from a donor or patient, separating desired cellular or plasma components through centrifugation or filtration, and returning remaining blood components to the individual. This selective separation enables collection of specific cell populations or removal of pathological blood components.

The biopharmaceutical industry relies on apheresis as a critical first step in autologous cell therapy manufacturing, collecting patient T cells or haematopoietic stem cells that are subsequently engineered into therapeutic products. Leukapheresis collects leukocyte-rich fractions for CAR-T cell manufacturing, requiring optimised protocols ensuring sufficient cell numbers and quality for downstream processing. Plasma exchange apheresis removes pathological antibodies or proteins in autoimmune conditions. Stem cell mobilisation with G-CSF and plerixafor followed by apheresis collection supports autologous stem cell transplantation programmes. As personalised cell therapies expand, apheresis collection quality increasingly determines downstream manufacturing success and final product characteristics.