We’ve heard about vampire facials, botox, face lifts and fat injections – but this latest anti-ageing technique seems like something straight out of science fiction.
A clinical trial being conducted in California is offering patients the chance to have young blood (from people aged 16-25) transfused into their bodies – in the hope that this will slow the ageing process.
Ambrosia LLC are in charge of conducting the trial, which will “study the effects of infusions of young plasma,” according to their website.
Taking blood plasma from US blood banks, Ambrosia state that every unit of blood is screened before use on volunteers – who pay for the privilege of taking part.
The study has been criticised for putting human life at risk for ‘vanity’
Using a wealth of scientific research for the basis of their study, Ambrosia quote numerous articles in medical journals that showed young blood reversed age related impairments in mice, as well as other clinical trial successes.
In one such journal from Nature in 2014, researchers were able to prove that old mice, exposed to the blood plasma of young mice, had improved cognitive function.
“Our data indicate that exposure of aged mice to young blood late in life is capable of rejuvenating synaptic plasticity and improving cognitive function,” reads the study abstract.
Likewise, transfusing young blood into mice showed improvements in kidney function, the central nervous system, the bones and more, in separate studies quoted on the site.
Despite the exciting medical implications of these studies, Ambrosia founder Jesse Karmazin has been criticised for the trial, that medical professionals say put people’s lives at risks for pure vanity.
The Princeton graduate, who does not have a license to practice medicine, says he was inspired by the wealth of research around injecting young blood into mice.
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