Therapeutic apheresis refers to an extracorporeal procedure in which blood separator technology is used to remove abnormal blood cells and plasma constituents. The terms plasmapheresis, leukapheresis and erythrocytapheresis describe the specific blood element that is removed. Plasmapheresis (PP) or therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is an extracorporeal blood purification technique designed for the removal of large quantities of plasma and replacement with fresh frozen plasma (FFP), albumin solution and/or saline. There are several mechanisms by which plasmapheresis exerts its beneficial effects. Its major mode of action is rapid depletion of specific disease-associated factors. Examples of these factors include pathogenic autoantibodies, immune complexes, thrombotic factors, endotoxin, cholesterol containing lipoproteins and other putative toxic mediators.