Young blood the cure to your ills? Houstonians can try it -- for $8,000

UPDATE: This company has ceased treatments. Read more on HoustonChronicle.com.

Think young blood is the key to better aging? A new company based on that premise will now inject such blood into the veins of people in Houston who want to give the idea a try.

Fair warning: It'll cost you at least $8,000, payable online through PayPal.

Business Insider is reporting Houston is one of six U.S. cities where a startup called Ambrosia is providing the unusual therapy, inspired by a 2014 study with mice. There is no evidence it can rejuvenate normally aging people, say experts.

"That's a very expensive 'fountain of youth,' " said Dr. Mark Udden, professor of medicine in Baylor College of Medicine's section of hematology/oncology. "This is a legitimate area of research, but this company appears to be just hype."

According to Ambrosia's website, people in Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tampa and Omaha, Nebraska can receive intravenous infusions of plasma from donors between 16 and 25. It's $8,000 for one liter, $12,000 for two and "laboratory fees may be extra."

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A liter of plasma usually goes for about $1,000, said Udden. He warned that more plasma than that can cause blood overload resulting in heart failure.

Ambrosia recently conducted a clinical trial – participants still had to pay at least $8,000 -- designed to find whether the procedure is beneficial, but hasn't published the results. The company's founder, Jesse Karmazin, told Business Insider the results were "really positive."

Blood transfusions from young donors are being tested in Alzheimer's patients. Udden said those have shown modest benefits in a small number of patients.

Ambrosia's for-profit business is legal despite the therapy still being in clinical trials because blood transfusions are already approved by federal regulators.

Todd Ackerman covers medicine for the Houston Chronicle. He can be reached at todd.ackerman@chron.com or twitter.com/ChronMed.