‘Blood purification’: China experts express health fears over trendy new ‘plasma cleaning’ therapy which claims to extend life by 20 years
- Procedure involves extracting blood, oxygenating it, reinjection
- Treatment changes colour of plasma from dark to bright red
An emergent beauty trend in China known as “blood purification”, which resembles kidney dialysis and is marketed by beauty salons as being able to extends life by 20 years, has raised health concerns among experts and online observers.
The treatment, which is heavily pushed on mainland social media platforms like Xiaohongshu using the keywords “blood purification” and “ozone therapy,” is purported to boost the metabolism, regulate immunity and detoxify the body.
It is portrayed as a rejuvenation tool and has gained particular popularity among the affluent.
Users describe the treatment as a step-by-step process.
First a syringe needle is inserted to draw blood which is then infused with ozone before re-injecting it into the body.
The most noticeable change is the colour of the blood from dark to bright red after oxygenation This is interpreted as a sign of improved health.
One user of the treatment detailed the experience in a social media post.
“I’m not really afraid of needles, but it still hurts. For the second step, they drew 100cc of blood. I’m not faint when it comes to blood and I’m quite brave, so I watched the whole process by myself.
“My blood was a darker red, not bright red, almost like unhealthy menstrual blood. Afterwards, the nurse showed me the colour of my blood before injecting ozone to begin purifying it,” the person said.
Some people even travel abroad for the service.
On Xiaohongshu, a woman said that she spent over more than 700,000 Japanese yen (US$4,700) on her father’s blood purification in Japan.
“In the end, more than half a bag of impurities was expelled. You never know how dirty your blood is until you try it!” she said.
However, the popularity of the treatment, medical experts have expressed safety concerns.
Luan Jie, vice president at the Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, told state media CCTV.
“Its safety is questionable. Also, there’s no scientific evidence to prove that this purification method can extend life or rejuvenate youth,” said Luan.
“The most effective blood therapy known in medicine is dialysis. In cases of kidney failure, dialysis is used to filter out toxins from the blood that the kidneys are unable to expel. This is the true form of blood detoxification,” Luan added.
Many people online expressed shock and criticised the treatment.
“Those who dare to try this have a lot of courage but lack common sense,” said one person.
While another added”: “Isn’t this just blood dialysis? It costs around 800 yuan per session in hospitals and is meant for patients with kidney failure. Normal people don’t undergo dialysis. The government should strictly regulate this.”
“I should start a new medical beauty treatment, brain purification,” joked a third person.
A fourth online observer said: “It’s not cleaning your blood, it’s cleaning out your wallet.”
