How does a plasma donation lower RBC? I tried to look it up real quick and couldn't find anything that supports that.
I would think any RBCs that are lost during plasmapheresis is very very minimal, and even with 5 donations it wouldn't come close to lowering RBCs as much as whole blood donation, let alone a double red donation.
What is plasmapheresis?
Plasmapheresis is a plasma donation process in which you only donate the straw-colored “liquid” portion of your blood, the plasma. A needle is placed in the vein of the donor’s arm, and the blood is collected utilizing a highly specialized medical device approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This automated instrument then separates the plasma from the bloods cellular portion (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets) which are then returned to the donor through the same needle along with a saline solution to help the body replace the plasma removed from the blood.