Performance of an apheresis procedure: The apheresis nurse-operator and nursing aspects.

Thousands of apheresis procedures are performed on a daily basis. Procedures such as plasmapheresis in donors are of shorter procedure time, but others will take many hours. Operators usually learn to operate the apheresis machine, but more and more attention needs to be paid to the non-technical aspects of an apheresis procedure. For handling all social, emotional and ethical aspects during the complete procedure, the apheresis nurse/operator needs to have numerous skills besides the specific basic knowledge regarding nursing and how to handle the machine. The knowledge of an apheresis nurse should cover various areas with general, administrative and, technical skills regarding the equipment you're working with, besides social and communicative skills.