Question 353 of 433
Does “young blood” or plasma exchange work?
The short answer
Infusing young people’s plasma has no proven benefit, and the FDA has warned against it. Plasma exchange, which removes and replaces part of your own plasma, is being studied seriously but is not ready.
Old mice surgically joined to young mice became healthier, which launched the idea. Later work suggested the benefit came less from adding young factors than from diluting old ones.
In 2025 a small trial tested this in 42 healthy adults over 50. Those who had plasma exchange with an added immune protein showed about two and a half years’ reduction in measures of biological age compared with a sham procedure. The effect was strongest after the first few sessions and then faded. The groups were tiny, the outcomes were clocks and not health, and the study was funded by a company that sells the procedure. An earlier trial suggested slower decline in Alzheimer’s disease.
The procedure costs several thousand dollars a session and carries the risks of large needles, blood pressure drops, and low calcium.
“This book is for education. It is not medical advice, and reading it does not make you my patient or create a doctor-patient relationship.” From the book’s medical disclaimer. Full disclaimer
SMALL HUMAN BIOMARKER STUDIES for plasma exchange; no established aging benefit from young-plasma infusion.Evidence grade (draft mapping)BLimited or small human studiesPart 23, Q353 · Part sources
From Longevity Unmasked by Afshine Ash Emrani, MD, FACC. Medical disclaimer. This book is for education. It is not medical advice, and reading it does not make you my patient or create a doctor-patient relationship. Nothing here is meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Medicine is personal: a test, drug, supplement, or exercise plan that helps one person can harm another. Do not start, stop, or change any medication or treatment because of something you read in these pages. Talk with a licensed clinician who knows your history first. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911. The author disclaims responsibility for any loss or harm arising from use of the information in this book.