Platelet rich plasma
A concentrate made by spinning a small sample of your own blood, often shortened to PRP. Here is what it is, where it is used, what the evidence does and does not show, and what to ask when the treatment is abroad.
A concentrate from your own blood.
PRP is the part of your blood that is rich in platelets, separated out and injected or applied to encourage healing.
Platelet rich plasma, usually written PRP, is a concentrate made from a small sample of your own blood. The sample is placed in a machine called a centrifuge, which spins it at speed to separate the components. The fraction that is rich in platelets, the cells that carry growth factors involved in healing, is drawn off and then injected into or applied to the area being treated. Because the material comes from your own body, it is described as autologous, which lowers the chance of an allergic or rejection reaction.
PRP is used across several fields. In hair, it is offered for certain kinds of thinning, sometimes alongside other treatments. In skin and aesthetics it appears in facial treatments, often combined with microneedling. In orthopaedics and sports medicine it is injected into joints and tendons for some conditions. The idea in each case is to deliver a concentrated dose of the body's own healing signals to the tissue, though the way it is prepared and used varies a great deal between providers.
The honest position on evidence is that it is mixed. For some uses there are encouraging studies, while for others the benefit is uncertain or the trials are small and hard to compare, partly because there is no single standard recipe for preparing PRP. It is generally considered low risk when your own blood is handled properly, with side effects usually limited to short term soreness, swelling or bruising at the site. It is not a guaranteed result, and any clinic promising one is overselling it.
Hygiene and honest claims.
PRP involves drawing your blood, processing it, and putting it back into your body, so clean handling is everything. When treatment is abroad, ask how your blood is kept separate and labelled, whether single use kits and sterile technique are used, and what training the person performing it has. Poor handling carries a real infection risk. A trustworthy provider will explain the process plainly and will not mind the questions.
Be cautious of marketing. PRP is often sold under brand names and bundled into packages with strong before and after claims, especially in aesthetics and hair. Because the evidence is mixed and there is no single standard preparation, ask exactly what condition it is meant to treat in your case, how many sessions are proposed, what realistic improvement looks like, and what happens if it does not work. Most PRP needs repeat sessions, which is hard to arrange once you are home, so factor that into any decision to travel for it rather than treating one trip as the whole course.
Where this comes up.
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