1. a medical procedure in which blood is drawn from a donor, a specific component is separated and removed or collected, and the remaining blood is returned to the donor.
Usage: medical/technical term; often used in compounds such as plasmapheresis, apheresis, or leukapheresis

Examples

• The patient underwent pheresis to remove excess platelets from the bloodstream.
• Pheresis is commonly used in blood banks to collect plasma from donors.
• The doctor recommended pheresis therapy to treat the patient's autoimmune condition.
• During pheresis, the machine separates blood components and returns the rest to the body.
• Therapeutic pheresis can help reduce harmful substances in the blood.