Freaky Old People are Injecting Themselves With the Blood of Teenagers

“Give me the blood of your teenagers” sounds like a line out of a horror movie, but a California start-up has made this a reality. The company, Ambrosia, claims that blood transfusions from young people might help cure some of the symptoms of aging. Anyone over the age of 35 can inject themselves with the young blood, but it will cost them a cool $8,000.

Ambrosia’s founder, Dr. Jesse Karmazin, started the company after reviewing research that studied whether injecting older mice with the plasma portion of young ones can improve memory. These studies are in the early stages and are far from definitive, but who cares about little things like peer reviewed trials when you can make eight grand a pop! JFC.

According to CNBC, Dr. Karmazin told a room of technologists that Ambrosia hopes to recruit hundreds of people to get the transfusions so he can study whether the young blood can help fight certain symptoms associated with aging.  So far, about 100 people have signed up for the transfusions, and most are “of retirement age.” Karmazin says that because biological aging hasn’t been treated as a disease, it makes it more challenging to study. I guess that explains why, instead of going through the traditional grant and funding stages, Ambrosia has people paying to be a part of their “study.” That totally feels legit.

The “young blood” that is transfused into the paying oldies is purchased from blood banks and is typically donated by teenagers who have no idea that their blood is going to healthy adults. I don’t know what the ethics are on something like that, but it just feels really gross. I’m all for science but this has a Dr. Frankenstein vibe.

Karmazin claims that those who have received transfusions have seen some positive benefits (lower levels of cancerous antigens and lower cholesterol) and haven’t reported any negative ones. But anyone who receives a blood transfusion faces the risk of allergic reaction, fever, and infection, which can sometimes be fatal.

I’m cool with getting older so Imma give this a hard NOPE, but how about you?

(Image: iStock / roibu)