Patent ID: 7837878

Claim:
A method for removing toxic substances from the blood of a patient, the method comprising: providing a system comprising: means for withdrawing blood from the patient; means for delivering the blood to a hemofilter having pores, the hemofilter having a molecular weight cutoff of greater than 150,000 Daltons and less than 1,000,000 Daltons so as to create a return stream and an ultrafiltrate stream, wherein the return stream has retained molecules that did not pass through the pores and the ultrafiltrate stream having molecules, including albumin and excluding significant amounts of immunoglobulins, that passed through the pores; means for removing at least a portion of the ultrafiltrate, so as to remove toxic substances contained in the ultrafiltrate from the blood; means for returning the return stream to the patient; and means for providing fluids to the patient that contain clean target receptor molecules, including albumin, to the patient; and conducting plasma colloid exchange therapy to the patient with the system sufficient to maintain plasma oncotic pressure of the patient and to provide fresh albumin optionally with other target receptor molecules to attract target molecules from tissue spaces in the patient.