FDA Warns Risky Plasma Infusions From Young Donors Won't Prevent Aging

The FDA has issued a report warning the public against receiving blood plasma infusions from young donors under the assumption that it will reverse aging or eliminate diseases. The advisory was prompted by reports from several states, according to the agency, about establishments allegedly offering infusions of plasma from young donors under claims of health and medical benefits.

The idea of young blood offering health and anti-aging benefits is nothing new, but it is apparently making its rounds again, this time in modern America. According to a statement published by the FDA today, establishments in multiple states are promoting plasma infusions from young donors as a supposed treatment for aging, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, PTSD, heart disease, and a number of other conditions.

This discovery has raised "significant public health concerns" at the FDA, which points out that there is "no proven clinical benefit" in getting these infusions. Not only are there no known benefits, plasma infusions present potential risks to the recipient's health.

The FDA has not tested plasma infusions from young donors for safety or health benefits, and as such the agency is advising that "these products should not be assumed to be safe or effective." The only instances of these treatments should take place in the form of clinical trials that are under an institutional review board with regulatory oversight, according to the FDA.

Plasma donations do have a recognized medical benefit, the FDA points out, but only for certain diseases and related uses. In this case, the risk of receiving a plasma infusion doesn't outweigh the benefits, though the risks do remain even in those cases, of course. Recipients could experience an allergic reaction, lung injury, acquire an infectious disease, and more.