New service for Health NZ Southern patients

A Therapeutic Apheresis Service will now be available to Health NZ Southern patients at Dunedin Hospital from March 17.  

The New Zealand Blood Service has been contracted to provide this service.   

Therapeutic Apheresis (TA) provides the ability to remove red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma for medical treatment, which can be used in a wide variety of conditions.  

The TA clinical team includes four Apheresis nurses, one clinical nurse leader and a Transfusion Medicine Specialist.  They will work between the AT Service and the NZ Blood Service Donor Centre, also in Dunedin.  

“We are excited to join the TA service supporting both Dunedin Hospital and the New Zealand Blood Service. We are committed to the Southern community and eager to make a positive impact,” the team says.  

Transfusion Medicine Specialist Annette Neylon worked at Health NZ Southern since 2008 as a Clinical Leader of the Haematology service between 2008 and 2019, and as a Clinical and Laboratory Haematologist.  

She moved to the NZBS in June 2022 in order to be part of an integral part of the newly commissioned Apheresis Service.  

“Having worked in the hospital system for so many years, it is incredible to be part of the Southern Apheresis Service providing for the population of Otago/Southland within their own region. The team is dedicated to working collaboratively with the hospital teams as well as the technical staff at NZBS,” Annette says.  

It is expected the TA service can provide about 100-200 procedures per year.   

New Zealand Blood Service Therapeutic Apheresis Nurse Specialist Kim Ruxton says the clinical team has undergone extensive training including going to Auckland to train and study with the team there.   

The first phase of the TA service will be therapeutic plasma exchange with other procedures to come in the future, Kim says. 

Health NZ Southern Project Manager Georgie Kirk, who has been leading the implementation of the new service, says Southern patients will now have access to local specialty care.  

The departments likely to utilise the service include critical care, neurology, nephrology and haematology.  

What is TA?  

Therapeutic Apheresis is the ability to remove red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma for medical treatment, which can be used in a wide variety of conditions.   

Using a centrifuge machine, blood is taken and spun to separate certain elements, before returning the remaining blood cells, platelets, and plasma back to the patient.   

 Procedures can include:     

• Therapeutic plasma exchange- removal of plasma with disease causing agents, replacing it with donated plasma    

• Red blood cell exchange transfusion – removal of unhealthy blood red blood cells and replacing them with healthy donated ones.   

• White cell/platelet depletion - removing excessive numbers of white blood cells and platelets.