Therapeutic haemaphereses are therapeutic procedures the objective of which is to reduce the contents of a pathogenic substance or cellular elements in the patient’s circulation whereby the removed constituents are replaced by solutions of crystalloids, colloids, plasma or cellular elements from a healthy donor. The therapeutic techniques are divided into groups of depletion methods which are represented by leukaphereses, lymphocytaphereses, erythrocytaphereses and thrombocyte depletion. As to exchange procedures, the authors were concerned with the problem of exchange plasmapheresis and exchange erythrocytapheresis. They present also experience with the preparation of a lymphocyte concentrate (DLI) to induce the graft-versus leukaemia effect (GVL), the method of extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP), the problem of paediatric haemaphereses and separations of haemopoietic progenitor cells from the peripheral blood stream (PBPC) which were implemented by a standard and large volume (LVL) regime. LVL preparations made it possible to prepare a larger number of CD34+ cells as compared with standard operations. Higher amounts of progenitor cells were obtained from patients with a good effect of mobilization as well as in inadequately mobilized patients. In patients with a good effect of mobilization one LVL separation was sufficient to prepare a CD34+ dose of cells of more than 5x10 6 /kg. LVL procedures can be recommended under all circumstances when the patient or donor can tolerate them. A particularly important part is played by these procedures in patients with an inadequate effect of mobilization where they are the only possibility how to prepare at least a minimal amount of progenitor cells for transplantation and for influencing the course of the basic disease.

        Key words: blood, apheresis, therapeutical methodsblood, apheresis, therapeutical methods