FDA warns 'young blood' infusions are risky, won't reverse aging

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning people not to get infusions of young blood, a risky and expensive procedure touted by some as a quick fix for conditions such as aging and memory loss.

Establishments in several states are offering infusions of plasma, the liquid part of blood that contains antibodies and proteins that help blood clot, obtained from young donors for thousands of dollars, according to the FDA guidance released Tuesday. Some clinics claim these young blood infusions can reverse the effects of aging and treat a wide range of serious illnesses including dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.

The FDA warns that these claims are not supported by evidence and the procedure is associated with “infectious, allergic, respiratory, and cardiovascular risks.”

“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,” Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

The FDA does not mention any particular "actors," but one clinic offering young blood transfusions, California-based Ambrosia, announced on its website that it has “ceased patient treatments” in response to the new guidance.

The medical startup, founded by Jesse Karmazin, was charging patients $8,000 or more for transfusions from 16- to 25-year-old donors, according to an investigation from Huffington Post. Karmazin was inspired by studies on the effects of mixing young and old blood done on surgically conjoined mice, Huffington Post reported.

"I want to be clear, at this point, it works," Karmazin once told Mic. "It reverses aging. We're pretty clear at this point. This is conclusive.”

Doctors and researchers have long been skeptical of his conclusions and "there is no proven clinical benefit of the infusion of plasma from young donors," according to the FDA.

The FDA is encouraging people to report "any adverse reactions resulting from the administration of plasma."