Plasma Donation Steve Holton, left, explains to Wendy Steinhoff how the process of apheresis works. Her whole blood is captured in the middle bag, and then separated into red blood cells in the right bag and plasma into the left bag. At a certain time in the process, her red blood cells, along with saline, are pushed back into her vein. SHARE IMAGE: Download Image: Full Size (2.92 MB) Tags: Coronavirus Photo By: Eric Pilgrim, Army VIRIN: 200624-A-QT978-0004.JPG Photo Gallery