Therapeutic apheresis in Asia: An Indonesia single center experience

J Clin Apher. 2015 Jun;30(3):139-40. doi: 10.1002/jca.21350. Epub 2014 Aug 12.

Abstract

In developing countries, like Indonesia, apheresis is still a relative new procedure. Nowadays, therapeutic apheresis procedures are performed in the field of hematology and neurology, especially in the teaching hospitals in Indonesia. Therapeutic apheresis procedure, that is, leukocytapheresis, therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), and thrombocytapheresis are already performed. In the period 2009-2013, 204 apheresis procedures in 137 patients to reduce the leukocytes, 72 TPE procedures in 17 patients, and 14 thrombocyte reductions were performed in the Sardjito hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In the future, to improve the therapeutic apheresis implementation, it is important to increase the insurance coverage and also should be considered to introduce the apheresis medicine into the curriculum of appropriate physician programs in Indonesia. Especially in Indonesia, a lot of efforts are still being needed to improve implementation of therapeutic apheresis.

Keywords: curriculum; implementation; insurance coverage; therapeutic apheresis.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Asia
  • Blood Platelets / cytology
  • Humans
  • Indonesia
  • Insurance, Health
  • Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / blood
  • Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / therapy
  • Leukocytes / cytology
  • Middle Aged
  • Plasma Exchange / methods*
  • Plasmapheresis / methods*
  • Plateletpheresis
  • Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / blood
  • Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / therapy
  • Young Adult