A Shot of Youth

Many people have been searching for ways to appear younger, whether it is by plastic surgery or expensive skincare routines. But now, new blood transfusion research shows a new possibility of anti-aging.

A research paper was published on July 25 showing that when cultured with bone marrow cells, the blood of the young can reverse aging in the skin of elderly people.

This particular research project was led by a skin care company residing in Germany called Beiersdorf AG, whose scientists identified different proteins like collagen and cell renewal that the bone marrow cells engendered as a result of the addition of young blood. 

Young blood alone, though, cannot trigger the anti-aging reactions. According to the research, it must be cultured with the bone marrow cells in order to be effective. 

Bone marrow cells are responsible for producing new blood cells, and are key to humans’ bodies for structural support and fighting infections. For this reason, scientists claim they are so important and necessary for these studies to be carried out.

In the experiments, scientists considered the blood from individuals under the age of 30 to be young blood

 and that of those over 60 to be old blood. The rejuvenating factors that were powered on in the bone marrow cells led the scientists to believe that the blood of the young had potential signs of reverse aging.

That being said, this blood swap was only tested on three-dimensional human skin models, and not yet on real humans. 

This does bring a few shortcomings: “The experiments ran for three to five weeks; the longer-term effects remain unknown. To avoid confounding variables, the skin models weren’t pre-aged using drugs or age-inducing treatments. The bone marrow models required added growth factors to remain viable, which might’ve confounded results to some extent – although comparisons were made between young and old serum under the same growth factor conditions,” Paul McClure from New Atlas said. 

Still, the research has brought a huge jump in terms of both health and technology, and it has the capacity to become a revolutionary treatment. 

Having younger skin not only includes the benefits of the look of youth, but with this method, it could also possibly be able to prevent certain age-related illnesses. 

“What research like this does is point towards strategies for staying healthier later into life, keeping illness and disease at bay for longer,” said David Nield from ScienceAlert. 

But as this method would also make the skin appear younger, many scientists predict that it would significantly attract the beauty industry. They raised concerns about how to regulate such treatments, especially with this anticipated increase in demand for young blood donations in the future.

Traditional folklore movies and stories from centuries ago have always described myths about vampires who drank blood to extend the life of themselves and maintain their youth. As of today, the evolution of science is beginning to show that these tales are starting to become reality. 

This revelation is just one of many possibilities that are currently undergoing further research- like CRISPR gene editing and stem cell therapy. Many are excited for the future of science and these inventions that could prove to be life-changing.