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{{short description|Experimental therapy}}
'''Young blood transfusion''' refers to ] specifically from a young person into an older person with the intention of creating a medicinal benefit.<ref name=sbm/> The scientific community currently views the practice as little more than ].<ref name=sbm/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Robbins|first1=Rebecca|title=Young-Blood Transfusions Are on the Menu at Society Gala|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/young-blood-transfusions-are-on-the-menu-at-society-gala/|website=Scientific American|accessdate=26 May 2018|language=en}}</ref> There have been no human trials published about the technique.<ref name=sbm/>
{{Redirect|Young blood|other uses|Youngblood (disambiguation){{!}}Youngblood}}
⚫ {{Alternative medicine sidebar |fringe}}
{{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc|display-authors=6}}
'''Young blood transfusion''' refers to ] specifically from a young person into an older one with the intention of creating a health benefit.<ref name="sbm">{{cite news|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/parabiosis-the-next-snakeoil/|title=Parabiosis – The Next Snakeoil| vauthors = Novella S |author-link=Steven Novella|date=3 August 2016|work=Science-Based Medicine}}</ref> The efficacy and safety of young blood transfusions for anti-aging purposes remain a subject of debate in the scientific community, with limited clinical evidence in humans.<ref name=sbm/><ref name="sciam">{{cite web| vauthors = Robbins R |title=Young-Blood Transfusions Are on the Menu at Society Gala|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/young-blood-transfusions-are-on-the-menu-at-society-gala/|website=Scientific American|access-date=26 May 2018|language=en|date=March 2, 2018}}</ref><ref name=FDA2019/> There are also concerns of harm.<ref name=FDA2019/> While some preclinical studies on animals suggest potential benefits, there is a lack of robust clinical evidence to support its use in humans.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Conboy IM, Conboy MJ, Wagers AJ, Girma ER, Weissman IL, Rando TA | title = Rejuvenation of aged progenitor cells by exposure to a young systemic environment | journal = Nature | volume = 433 | issue = 7027 | pages = 760–764 | date = February 2005 | pmid = 15716955 | doi = 10.1038/nature03260 | bibcode = 2005Natur.433..760C }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sinha M, Jang YC, Oh J, Khong D, Wu EY, Manohar R, Miller C, Regalado SG, Loffredo FS, Pancoast JR, Hirshman MF, Lebowitz J, Shadrach JL, Cerletti M, Kim MJ, Serwold T, Goodyear LJ, Rosner B, Lee RT, Wagers AJ | title = Restoring systemic GDF11 levels reverses age-related dysfunction in mouse skeletal muscle | journal = Science | volume = 344 | issue = 6184 | pages = 649–652 | date = May 2014 | pmid = 24797481 | doi = 10.1126/science.1251152 | pmc = 4104429 | bibcode = 2014Sci...344..649S }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Villeda SA, Plambeck KE, Middeldorp J, Castellano JM, Mosher KI, Luo J, Smith LK, Bieri G, Lin K, Berdnik D, Wabl R, Udeochu J, Wheatley EG, Zou B, Simmons DA, Xie XS, Longo FM, Wyss-Coray T | title = Young blood reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice | journal = Nature Medicine | volume = 20 | issue = 6 | pages = 659–663 | date = June 2014 | pmid = 24793238 | pmc = 4224436 | doi = 10.1038/nm.3569 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Katsimpardi L, Litterman NK, Schein PA, Miller CM, Loffredo FS, Wojtkiewicz GR, Chen JW, Lee RT, Wagers AJ, Rubin LL | title = Vascular and neurogenic rejuvenation of the aging mouse brain by young systemic factors | journal = Science | volume = 344 | issue = 6184 | pages = 630–634 | date = May 2014 | pmid = 24797482 | pmc = 4123747 | doi = 10.1126/science.1251141 | bibcode = 2014Sci...344..630K }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Mccay CM, Pope F, Lunsford W, Sperling G, Sambhavaphol P | title = Parabiosis between old and young rats | journal = Gerontologia | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = 7–17 | date = 1957 | pmid = 13405201 | doi = 10.1159/000210677 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Horvath S, Singh K, Raj K, Khairnar SI, Sanghavi A, Shrivastava A, Zoller JA, Li CZ, Herenu CB, Canatelli-Mallat M, Lehmann M, Habazin S, Novokmet M, Vučković F, Solberg Woods LC, Martinez AG, Wang T, Chiavellini P, Levine AJ, Chen H, Brooke RT, Gordevicius J, Lauc G, Goya RG, Katcher HL | title = Reversal of biological age in multiple rat organs by young porcine plasma fraction | journal = GeroScience | volume = 46 | issue = 1 | pages = 367–394 | date = February 2024 | pmid = 37875652 | pmc = 10828479 | doi = 10.1007/s11357-023-00980-6 }}</ref> The U.S. ], in 2019, cautioned "consumers against receiving young donor plasma infusions" stating that they are an "unproven treatment".<ref name=FDA2019/>


== Research ==
Evidence from two large studies in 2017 showed that the transfusion of blood from younger donors to older people was either no different from, or led to worse outcomes than, blood from older donors.<ref name=sbm>{{cite news|last1=Novella|first1=Steven|title=Parabiosis – The Next Snakeoil|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/parabiosis-the-next-snakeoil/|work=Science-Based Medicine|date=3 August 2016}}</ref><ref name=Garraud2017>{{cite journal|last1=Garraud|first1=O|title=Younger blood from older donors: Admitting ignorance and seeking stronger data and clinical trials?|journal=Transfusion and apheresis science : official journal of the World Apheresis Association : official journal of the European Society for Haemapheresis|date=August 2017|volume=56|issue=4|pages=635-636|doi=10.1016/j.transci.2017.07.002|pmid=28780993}}</ref> Research on blood transfusion outcomes has been complicated by the lack of careful characterization of the transfusion products that have been used in clinical trials; studies had focused on how storage methods and duration might affect blood, but not on the differences among lots of blood themselves.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ning|first1=S|last2=Heddle|first2=NM|last3=Acker|first3=JP|title=Exploring donor and product factors and their impact on red cell post-transfusion outcomes.|journal=Transfusion medicine reviews|date=January 2018|volume=32|issue=1|pages=28-35|doi=10.1016/j.tmrv.2017.07.006|pmid=28988603}}</ref>
Experiments beginning in the 1950s in the ] lab of ] on pairs of old and young rodents placed into ] provided some evidence, albeit limited and "largely anecdotal", that the circulation of blood from young mice increased both the longevity and the tissue function of old mice.<ref name="Conboy2013">{{cite journal | vauthors = Conboy MJ, Conboy IM, Rando TA | title = Heterochronic parabiosis: historical perspective and methodological considerations for studies of aging and longevity | journal = Aging Cell | volume = 12 | issue = 3 | pages = 525–530 | date = June 2013 | pmid = 23489470 | pmc = 4072458 | doi = 10.1111/acel.12065 }}</ref> After decades in which relatively little work on parabiosis in aging was done, the work was revived by researchers at ] and the ].<ref name="Conboy2013"/><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Scudellari M | title = Ageing research: Blood to blood | journal = Nature | volume = 517 | issue = 7535 | pages = 426–429 | date = January 2015 | pmid = 25612035 | doi = 10.1038/517426a | ref = nature | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2015Natur.517..426S }}</ref> Parabiosis experiments are difficult to generalize, as the circulatory systems of the mice are fully joined and it is unclear whether the benefits come from the sharing of blood or the older mouse's access to the younger mouse's organs.<ref name="sbm"/>


A study conducted at UC Berkeley found that when delivered alone, blood from older mice was more inhibitory to the regenerative capacities of younger mice than blood from younger mice was beneficial to older ones, and that the benefit of young blood in older mice was less than had been observed when older mice were subjected to parabiosis.<ref name="Rebp2016">{{cite journal | vauthors = Rebo J, Mehdipour M, Gathwala R, Causey K, Liu Y, Conboy MJ, Conboy IM | title = A single heterochronic blood exchange reveals rapid inhibition of multiple tissues by old blood | journal = Nature Communications | volume = 7 | pages = 13363 | date = November 2016 | pmid = 27874859 | pmc = 5121415 | doi = 10.1038/ncomms13363 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2016NatCo...713363R }}</ref><ref name="pmid32474458">{{cite journal | vauthors = Mehdipour M, Skinner C, Wong N, Lieb M, Liu C, Etienne J, Kato C, Kiprov D, Conboy MJ, Conboy IM | title = Rejuvenation of three germ layers tissues by exchanging old blood plasma with saline-albumin | journal = Aging | volume = 12 | issue = 10 | pages = 8790–8819 | date = May 2020 | pmid = 32474458 | pmc = 7288913 | doi = 10.18632/aging.103418 }}</ref> Replacing plasma of old mice with saline and albumin from young mice was sufficient to rejuvenate brain, liver, and muscle.<ref name="pmid32474458" /> A 2020 review of plasma components that change with age identified several candidate anti-aging and pro-aging factors.<ref name="pmid33197235">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kang JS, Yang YR | title = Circulating plasma factors involved in rejuvenation | journal = Aging | volume = 12 | issue = 22 | pages = 23394–23408 | date = November 2020 | pmid = 33197235 | pmc = 7746393 | doi = 10.18632/aging.103933 }}</ref>
The evidence suggesting the treatment could be beneficial was based on research done on rodents at ] in which blood transfused from young mice seemed to invigorate older mice;<ref name=Garraud2017/> the circulatory systems of the mice were connected which put them in a state of ].<ref name=sbm/> A company, Alkahest, was spun out of Stanford based on that work, and as of 2017 was collaborating with European pharmaceutical company ] to create a ]-based experimental ] drug, which they propose to test on people with ].<ref name=Trends2017>{{cite journal|last1=de Magalhães|first1=JP|last2=Stevens|first2=M|last3=Thornton|first3=D|title=The Business of Anti-Aging Science.|journal=Trends in biotechnology|date=November 2017|volume=35|issue=11|pages=1062-1073|doi=10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.07.004|pmid=28778607}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Drew|first1=L|title=Neuroscience: The power of plasma.|journal=Nature|date=27 September 2017|volume=549|issue=7673|pages=S26-S27|doi=10.1038/549S26a|pmid=28953857}}</ref>


In experiments like this, researchers found that some of the parabiosed died quickly (11 out of 69 in one experiment) for reasons the scientists could not explain, but described as possibly some form of ];<ref name="Conboy2013"/><ref name="sbm" /> most such cases were the young parabiont.<ref name="Conboy2013"/> ], a researcher who coauthored several mouse studies on young blood transfusion, has said that her papers do not provide a scientific basis for some of the existing human trials.<ref name="sciam"/>
A startup company named Ambrosia has been selling "young blood transfusions" for $8,000 since 2017 under the guise of running a ], to see if such transfusions lead to changes in the blood of recipients.<ref name=sbm/><ref name=Trends2017/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Haynes|first1=Gavin|title=Ambrosia: the startup harvesting the blood of the young|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2017/aug/21/ambrosia-the-startup-harvesting-the-blood-of-the-young|accessdate=23 May 2018|work=The Guardian|date=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref> The startup was started by Karmazin who has an MD but is not able to practice medicine as he has no license to do so.<ref name=Max2017>{{cite web|last1=Maxmen|first1=Amy|title=This startup takes cash from aging adults in exchange for young people’s blood|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603242/questionable-young-blood-transfusions-offered-in-us-as-anti-aging-remedy/|website=MIT Technology Review|accessdate=26 May 2018|language=en}}</ref> Another physician who is involved, David Wright is involved with doing intravenous treatments of vitamins and antibiotics for non traditional purposes.<ref name=Max2017/>


A review of studies on donor age for whole blood transfusions reported that blood from donors under the age of 20 years, when compared to donors aged 20–60 years, resulted in a modestly higher risk of death in the recipients.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Edgren G, Ullum H, Rostgaard K, Erikstrup C, Sartipy U, Holzmann MJ, Nyrén O, Hjalgrim H | title = Association of Donor Age and Sex With Survival of Patients Receiving Transfusions | journal = JAMA Internal Medicine | volume = 177 | issue = 6 | pages = 854–860 | date = June 2017 | pmid = 28437543 | pmc = 5540056 | doi = 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.0890 }}</ref> However, other studies have found no effect of age.<ref name="Vasan2016">{{cite journal | vauthors = Vasan SK, Chiesa F, Rostgaard K, Magnusson PK, Halmin M, Nielsen KR, Titlestad KE, Hjalgrim H, Edgren G | title = Lack of association between blood donor age and survival of transfused patients | journal = Blood | volume = 127 | issue = 5 | pages = 658–661 | date = February 2016 | pmid = 26702060 | doi = 10.1182/blood-2015-11-683862 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Guinn2016">{{cite journal | vauthors = Guinn NR, Waldron NH, Cooter ML, Goldberg CL, Kertai MD, Raghunathan K, Bandarenko N, Hoffman M, Bennett-Guerrero E | title = No association between donor age and recipient outcomes: transfusion of plasma in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery | journal = Transfusion | volume = 56 | issue = 7 | pages = 1723–1729 | date = July 2016 | pmid = 27105928 | doi = 10.1111/trf.13616 | s2cid = 3604995 }}</ref> Research on blood transfusion outcomes has been complicated by the lack of careful characterization of the transfusion products that have been used in clinical trials; studies had focused on how storage methods and duration might affect blood, but not on the differences among lots of blood themselves.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ning S, Heddle NM, Acker JP | title = Exploring donor and product factors and their impact on red cell post-transfusion outcomes | journal = Transfusion Medicine Reviews | volume = 32 | issue = 1 | pages = 28–35 | date = January 2018 | pmid = 28988603 | doi = 10.1016/j.tmrv.2017.07.006 }}</ref>
Human trials are reported to be underway in China and Korea but with very little detail about what is actually involved.<ref name="Inc" />


Another approach to achieving "younger" blood is to rejuvenate blood-producing ] in the ]. A 2023 study reported that the existing rheumatoid arthritis drug ] blocked ] in elderly mice and returned those cells to a more youthful state.<ref>{{Cite web | vauthors = Irving M |date=2023-02-06 |title=Arthritis drug mimics "young blood" transfusions to reverse aging in mice |url=https://newatlas.com/medical/arthritis-drug-young-blood-reverses-aging-mice/ |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=New Atlas |language=en-US}}</ref>
⚫ ==References==
⚫ {{reflist|refs=


== Commercial development ==
<ref name="Inc">
In February 2019 the FDA issued a warning about companies offering young blood transfusions stating: {{blockquote|"simply put, we’re concerned that some patients are being preyed upon by unscrupulous actors touting treatments of plasma from young donors as cures and remedies. Such treatments have no proven clinical benefits for the uses for which these clinics are advertising them and are potentially harmful. There are reports of bad actors charging thousands of dollars for infusions that are unproven and not guided by evidence from adequate and well-controlled trials. The promotion of plasma for these unproven purposes could also discourage patients suffering from serious or intractable illnesses from receiving safe and effective treatments that may be available to them."<ref name=FDA2019>{{cite web |title=Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., and Director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., cautioning consumers against receiving young donor plasma infusions that are promoted as unproven treatment for varying conditions |url=https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm631568.htm |website=FDA |access-date=20 February 2019 |date=19 February 2019}}</ref><ref name=ars/>}}
⚫ {{cite news
|url=https://www.inc.com/jeff-bercovici/peter-thiel-young-blood.html
|title=Peter Thiel Is Very, Very Interested In Young People's Blood
|surname=Bercovici
|first=Jeff
|work=Inc
|accessdate=5 May 2018
}}
</ref>


=== Ambrosia ===
}}
A startup company, Ambrosia, has been selling "young blood transfusions" for $8,000 since 2016 framing it as a ], to see if such transfusions lead to changes in the blood of recipients.<ref name="sbm" /><ref name="Trends20173">{{cite journal | vauthors = de Magalhães JP, Stevens M, Thornton D | title = The Business of Anti-Aging Science | journal = Trends in Biotechnology | volume = 35 | issue = 11 | pages = 1062–1073 | date = November 2017 | pmid = 28778607 | doi = 10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.07.004 | doi-access = free }}</ref> As of August 2017, 600 people had participated in the trial.<ref name="Haynes 2017">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2017/aug/21/ambrosia-the-startup-harvesting-the-blood-of-the-young|title=Ambrosia: the startup harvesting the blood of the young| vauthors = Haynes G |date=21 August 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=23 May 2018|language=en}}</ref> The clinical trial has no ] and so is neither randomized nor blind. As described, whole blood collected by blood banks that had passed its 42-day storage limit was centrifuged to remove cells, the resulting cell-free plasma pooled from several donations and intravenously transfused into recipients.<ref name="Haynes 2017" /> The company was started by Jesse Karmazin, a medical school graduate without a license to practice medicine.<ref name="Max20173">{{cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603242/questionable-young-blood-transfusions-offered-in-us-as-anti-aging-remedy/|title=This startup takes cash from aging adults in exchange for young people's blood| vauthors = Maxmen A |website=MIT Technology Review|language=en|access-date=May 26, 2018|date=January 13, 2017}}</ref><!-- Quote = With an MD but no license to practice medicine, Karmazin is conducting the trial with David C. Wright, a 66-year-old physician with a private intravenous-therapy center in Monterey. --> David Wright is the licensed doctor overseeing the clinical trial; in his practice he administers intravenous treatments of vitamins and antibiotics for ] and was disciplined by the California Medical Board for the latter in 2015. Jonathan Kimmelman, a bioethicist from McGill University, suggests that Ambrosia is running this as a trial as they would be unable to get FDA approval to sell this treatment otherwise.<ref name="Max20173" />
⚫ ]
⚫ ]


On February 19, 2019, Ambrosia announced it stopped testing the treatment, responding to concerns from the FDA.<ref name=ars>{{Cite news|url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/02/blood-of-the-young-wont-spare-rich-old-people-from-sadness-and-death-fda-says/|title=Blood of the young won't spare rich old people from sadness and death, FDA says| vauthors = Mole B |date=February 19, 2019|work=Ars Technica|access-date=February 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220194854/https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/02/blood-of-the-young-wont-spare-rich-old-people-from-sadness-and-death-fda-says/|archive-date=February 20, 2019}}</ref>


==Further reading== === Alkahest ===
Another company, Alkahest, was founded based on the Stanford rodent studies. As of 2017 it is collaborating with European pharmaceutical company ] to create a ]-based experimental ] drug which they propose to test on people with ].<ref name="Trends20173"/><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Drew L | title = Neuroscience: The power of plasma | journal = Nature | volume = 549 | issue = 7673 | pages = S26–S27 | date = September 2017 | pmid = 28953857 | doi = 10.1038/549S26a | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2017Natur.549S..26D }}</ref>
*{{cite news

=== Maharaj Institute Clinical Trial ===
The Maharaj Institute led by Dr. Dipnarine Maharaj MD, a Florida licensed physician, is currently running a clinical trial to test whether using G-CSF (Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor) stem cell mobilized young blood plasma can treat symptoms of frailty in patients aged 55 to 95.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=ClinicalTrials.gov |url=https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03458429?term=Dipnarine%20Maharaj&rank=1 |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=clinicaltrials.gov}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Miranda |first=Danny |title=Home - The Maharaj Institute Regenerative Medicine Services |url=https://maharajinstitute.com/ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=The Maharaj Institute |language=en-US}}</ref>  Participation in the trial is free of charge to the patients.<ref name=":0" />  This trial has been promoted by Bill Faloon, who founded the Life Extension Foundation.<ref name="sciam" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-05-12 |title=South Florida Church Pursues Eternal Life Through Cryonics, Inflaming Critics and the IRS |url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/south-florida-church-pursues-eternal-life-through-cryonics-inflaming-critics-and-the-irs-7608632 |access-date=2018-06-10 |work=Miami New Times |vauthors=Funcheon D}}</ref>  The trial has received FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) and IRB approval for a Phase I/Phase II clinical trial as a single-arm study without a control group, which is not uncommon for Phase I/Phase II studies.<ref name=":0" />  Dr. Maharaj also has a program for hematopoietic progenitor stem cell and immune cell banking so that patients can preserve their cells for future use.<ref name=":1" />

=== Young Blood Institute ===
An organization called the Young Blood Institute has also run trials; these, however, involved exchange only of ].<ref name=Wei2019>{{cite news| vauthors = Basu T, Weill K |title=FDA Warns: Don't Give These Companies Your 'Young Blood' |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/fda-warns-dont-give-these-companies-your-young-blood |access-date=15 December 2019 |language=en |date=22 February 2019|newspaper=The Daily Beast}}</ref>

== See also ==
*]: Tech Billionaire that attempted the practice as part of "Project Blueprint"

⚫ == References ==
⚫ {{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
⚫ * {{cite news
|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fountain-of-youth-young-blood-infusions-ldquo-rejuvenate-rdquo-old-mice/ |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fountain-of-youth-young-blood-infusions-ldquo-rejuvenate-rdquo-old-mice/
|title=Fountain of Youth? Young Blood Infusions "Rejuvenate" Old Mice |title=Fountain of Youth? Young Blood Infusions "Rejuvenate" Old Mice
Line 36: Line 47:
|first=Simon |first=Simon
|work=] |work=]
|accessdate=5 May 2018 |access-date=5 May 2018
}} }}

{{Pseudoscience}}

]
]
⚫ ]

Latest revision as of 01:26, 14 August 2024

Experimental therapy "Young blood" redirects here. For other uses, see Youngblood.
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Young blood transfusion refers to transfusing blood specifically from a young person into an older one with the intention of creating a health benefit. The efficacy and safety of young blood transfusions for anti-aging purposes remain a subject of debate in the scientific community, with limited clinical evidence in humans. There are also concerns of harm. While some preclinical studies on animals suggest potential benefits, there is a lack of robust clinical evidence to support its use in humans. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in 2019, cautioned "consumers against receiving young donor plasma infusions" stating that they are an "unproven treatment".

Research

Experiments beginning in the 1950s in the Cornell University lab of Clive McCay on pairs of old and young rodents placed into parabiosis provided some evidence, albeit limited and "largely anecdotal", that the circulation of blood from young mice increased both the longevity and the tissue function of old mice. After decades in which relatively little work on parabiosis in aging was done, the work was revived by researchers at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley. Parabiosis experiments are difficult to generalize, as the circulatory systems of the mice are fully joined and it is unclear whether the benefits come from the sharing of blood or the older mouse's access to the younger mouse's organs.

A study conducted at UC Berkeley found that when delivered alone, blood from older mice was more inhibitory to the regenerative capacities of younger mice than blood from younger mice was beneficial to older ones, and that the benefit of young blood in older mice was less than had been observed when older mice were subjected to parabiosis. Replacing plasma of old mice with saline and albumin from young mice was sufficient to rejuvenate brain, liver, and muscle. A 2020 review of plasma components that change with age identified several candidate anti-aging and pro-aging factors.

In experiments like this, researchers found that some of the parabiosed died quickly (11 out of 69 in one experiment) for reasons the scientists could not explain, but described as possibly some form of immune rejection; most such cases were the young parabiont. Amy Wagers, a researcher who coauthored several mouse studies on young blood transfusion, has said that her papers do not provide a scientific basis for some of the existing human trials.

A review of studies on donor age for whole blood transfusions reported that blood from donors under the age of 20 years, when compared to donors aged 20–60 years, resulted in a modestly higher risk of death in the recipients. However, other studies have found no effect of age. Research on blood transfusion outcomes has been complicated by the lack of careful characterization of the transfusion products that have been used in clinical trials; studies had focused on how storage methods and duration might affect blood, but not on the differences among lots of blood themselves.

Another approach to achieving "younger" blood is to rejuvenate blood-producing stem cells in the bone marrow. A 2023 study reported that the existing rheumatoid arthritis drug anakinra blocked IL-1B in elderly mice and returned those cells to a more youthful state.

Commercial development

In February 2019 the FDA issued a warning about companies offering young blood transfusions stating:

"simply put, we’re concerned that some patients are being preyed upon by unscrupulous actors touting treatments of plasma from young donors as cures and remedies. Such treatments have no proven clinical benefits for the uses for which these clinics are advertising them and are potentially harmful. There are reports of bad actors charging thousands of dollars for infusions that are unproven and not guided by evidence from adequate and well-controlled trials. The promotion of plasma for these unproven purposes could also discourage patients suffering from serious or intractable illnesses from receiving safe and effective treatments that may be available to them."

Ambrosia

A startup company, Ambrosia, has been selling "young blood transfusions" for $8,000 since 2016 framing it as a clinical trial, to see if such transfusions lead to changes in the blood of recipients. As of August 2017, 600 people had participated in the trial. The clinical trial has no control arm and so is neither randomized nor blind. As described, whole blood collected by blood banks that had passed its 42-day storage limit was centrifuged to remove cells, the resulting cell-free plasma pooled from several donations and intravenously transfused into recipients. The company was started by Jesse Karmazin, a medical school graduate without a license to practice medicine. David Wright is the licensed doctor overseeing the clinical trial; in his practice he administers intravenous treatments of vitamins and antibiotics for nontraditional purposes and was disciplined by the California Medical Board for the latter in 2015. Jonathan Kimmelman, a bioethicist from McGill University, suggests that Ambrosia is running this as a trial as they would be unable to get FDA approval to sell this treatment otherwise.

On February 19, 2019, Ambrosia announced it stopped testing the treatment, responding to concerns from the FDA.

Alkahest

Another company, Alkahest, was founded based on the Stanford rodent studies. As of 2017 it is collaborating with European pharmaceutical company Grifols to create a blood plasma-based experimental biologic drug which they propose to test on people with Alzheimer's.

Maharaj Institute Clinical Trial

The Maharaj Institute led by Dr. Dipnarine Maharaj MD, a Florida licensed physician, is currently running a clinical trial to test whether using G-CSF (Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor) stem cell mobilized young blood plasma can treat symptoms of frailty in patients aged 55 to 95.  Participation in the trial is free of charge to the patients.  This trial has been promoted by Bill Faloon, who founded the Life Extension Foundation.  The trial has received FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) and IRB approval for a Phase I/Phase II clinical trial as a single-arm study without a control group, which is not uncommon for Phase I/Phase II studies.  Dr. Maharaj also has a program for hematopoietic progenitor stem cell and immune cell banking so that patients can preserve their cells for future use.

Young Blood Institute

An organization called the Young Blood Institute has also run trials; these, however, involved exchange only of blood plasma.

See also

  • Bryan Johnson: Tech Billionaire that attempted the practice as part of "Project Blueprint"

References

  1. ^ Novella S (3 August 2016). "Parabiosis – The Next Snakeoil". Science-Based Medicine.
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