Effects of serial harvest of plasma on total plasma protein and total immunoglobulin G concentrations in donor horses involved in a plasmapheresis program.

The research studies the impacts of successive plasmapheresis on the total protein and total IgG concentrations in the plasma of donor horses, indicating significant reductions caused by this process, but these decreases were not physiologically relevant.

Objectives and Methodology

• The goal of the study was to assess the influence of regular, intensive plasmapheresis on the total plasma protein and total IgG levels in donor horses that are part of a plasmapheresis program. Plasmapheresis is a process in which the fluid part of the blood, or plasma, is separated from the blood cells.
• Eighteen horses of varying breeds, ages, and weights were involved in the study. A set amount of plasma was taken every two weeks from these horses for a minimum of eight consecutive plasmapheresis donations. This process was done through automated plasmapheresis procedures, using two modified plasmapheresis instruments per donor horse.
• The plasma samples taken during each donation were used to determine the concentrations of total protein and total IgG. Total plasma protein concentrations were discovered through refractometry, while an available ELISA was used to determine total equine IgG concentrations.

Results and Conclusions

• The eighteen donor horses were involved in eight to nineteen consecutive donations during the study. Both the total protein and IgG concentrations in the plasma of the donor horses experienced significant reductions throughout the course of the research.
• Despite these reductions, the study concluded that these were not physiologically relevant, meaning that these changes in protein and IgG concentrations didn’t lead to any detrimental effects in the health of the horses. Performing plasmapheresis on horses in accordance with the evaluated automated plasmapheresis procedures did not result in a critical decrease in total plasma protein or total IgG concentrations.
• Therefore, while repeated plasmapheresis procedures can cause considerable decreases in plasma protein and IgG concentrations in donor horses, these decreases do not lead to any harmful physiological outcomes.