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Therapeutic Plasma Exchange
$10,000 value
Physician-directed Therapeutic Plasma Exchange, performed as part of your personalized treatment strategy.
Therapeutic Plasma Exchange at the Institute
Join theFounding 50
Physician-led · Evaluation first · Hanover, Maryland
Be among the first 50 patients to experience our physician-led Therapeutic Plasma Exchange program.
We combine Therapeutic Plasma Exchange with comprehensive testing and physician evaluation, because advanced therapies deserve serious medicine.
$13,000Regular value
$9,500Founding 50
$3,500You save
Not ready to start? Download our TPE Guide
Limited to the first 50 qualified participants. Therapeutic Plasma Exchange is subject to physician evaluation and medical suitability.
Physician led
Prescribed and supervised, never booked from a menu
Evaluation first
Testing and a suitability consult before any treatment decision
Spectra Optia
The Terumo BCT system used in hospital apheresis units
Hanover, Maryland
Minutes from BWI, serving Baltimore, Columbia and DC
A physician-led approach
We don't start with the procedure.We start with you.
Therapeutic Plasma Exchange is one of the most talked-about interventions in longevity medicine. But access to an advanced therapy isn't the same thing as knowing whether you should use it.
Every Founding 50 participant begins with a deeper understanding of their biology. We test. We evaluate. We understand. Then we treat.
Just because you can get plasma exchange doesn't mean you should.Anil Bajnath, MD, MBA, IFMCP, ABAARM · Founder
Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner
Diplomate, American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine
Founder, Institute for Human Optimization
Advanced diagnostics
Physician-led evaluation
Personalized treatment strategy
Comprehensive follow-through
Everything included
The Founding 50 Program
$13,000 value for $9,50002
Total Tox Burden Assessment
Included
A comprehensive assessment designed to evaluate potential environmental toxicant burden and establish a deeper baseline.
03
Comprehensive Bloodwork
Included
Physician-selected laboratory testing to assess baseline health and the factors most relevant to your treatment strategy.
04
Physician Suitability Consultation
IncludedA physician review of your medical history, laboratory findings and health objectives to determine whether TPE is medically appropriate.
Limited to 50 participants. Therapeutic Plasma Exchange is subject to physician evaluation and medical suitability.
Watch first
Dr. Bajnath on what plasma exchange actually does.
The mechanism in plain terms, what the current research supports, and where the honest limits are. Watch this before your consultation and the conversation gets shorter and better.
The science
What is Therapeutic Plasma Exchange?
Plasma is the liquid portion of your blood. It carries antibodies, proteins, signaling molecules and numerous other circulating factors throughout the body.
During Therapeutic Plasma Exchange, blood is processed through an apheresis system. Plasma is separated and a prescribed amount is removed, while cellular blood components are returned with an appropriate replacement fluid.
It is not filtration and it is not a cleanse. It changes the composition of the fluid your cells sit in. TPE has established uses in conventional medicine, and researchers are investigating the role of the circulating plasma environment in inflammation, biological aging and healthspan.
55%Approximate plasma fraction of blood volume
1963First documented therapeutic use
Inside one spin
Blood is two things. TPE addresses one of them.
Scroll through a single pass of your blood inside the Spectra Optia, layer by layer.
Plasma out, albumin in
Cells returned to you
Inside one spin
What actually happens to your blood.
Scroll to follow a single pass through the machine, layer by layer.
Separation
Spun, then layered by density.
Blood is drawn into the Spectra Optia and spun continuously. Centrifugal force layers it by density, lightest at the top and densest at the bottom, while optical detection holds the boundary between the layers in place.
Spectra Optia
Plasma
0%of blood volume, approximately
The fluid your cells sit in.
The straw coloured liquid carrying proteins, antibodies, lipids, hormones, clotting factors and inflammatory signals. This is the only layer that leaves.
Removed
White cells and platelets
<0%of blood volume
A thin band in the middle.
A thin pale band of white cells and platelets, called the buffy coat, sitting between the plasma and the red cells. It goes back into you.
Returned
Red cells
0%of blood volume, approximately
The densest layer settles last.
The cells that carry oxygen. Returned to you continuously, together with the replacement fluid.
Returned
The exchange
Only the plasma leaves.
The plasma is discarded and replaced, most commonly with human albumin solution. Every cell goes back into you. That single change in the fluid is the whole procedure.
Separation
Blood is drawn into the Spectra Optia and spun continuously. Centrifugal force layers it by density while optical detection holds the boundary between the layers in place.
Plasma, about 55%, removed
The liquid carrying proteins, antibodies, lipids, hormones, clotting factors and inflammatory signals. It is discarded and replaced, most commonly with human albumin solution.
White cells and platelets, under 1%, returned
A thin pale band called the buffy coat, sitting between the plasma and the red cells. It goes back into you.
Red cells, about 45%, returned
The densest layer, the cells that carry oxygen. Returned to you continuously, together with the replacement fluid.
Separation by density, which is the only thing centrifugation does.
The circuit
A closed loop, running the whole time.
Blood leaves, separates and returns continuously rather than in batches. Only one thing does not come back to you.
—
Follow one pass through the machine.
Scroll to follow a single loop of blood through the Spectra Optia, part by part.
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Whole blood out into the circuit.
Blood leaves through venous access and enters the disposable tubing set, continuously rather than in batches.
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Separated by density inside the cabinet.
The centrifuge spins the blood. Denser red cells move outward, plasma stays innermost, and optical detection holds the boundary between them.
03
Plasma diverted and discarded.
The plasma layer is drawn off into a collection bag. It is the only part of your blood that does not come back.
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Replacement fluid in human albumin.
Albumin solution is added to replace the volume removed, so fluid balance stays steady through the run.
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Cells returned to you.
Red cells, white cells and platelets go back together with the replacement fluid. The loop keeps running until the planned volume has been exchanged.
Established medicine vs. emerging longevity science
Two very different questions.
Whether plasma exchange works is not one question. It is two, and they have very different answers. Conflating them is how this procedure gets oversold, so we separate them here.
Established medicine
Plasma exchange as a clinical procedure
- In continuous clinical use since the 1960s, with the first documented therapeutic application in 1963
- The American Society for Apheresis maintains graded indication categories, reviewed and republished on a defined cycle
- First line standard of care for a defined set of neurologic, hematologic and autoimmune conditions
- Safety profile characterized across decades of hospital use, with reactions well described and generally manageable
- Performed on equipment cleared for the purpose and operated by trained personnel
Still an open question
Plasma exchange for age related reasons
- No trial has shown that plasma exchange extends lifespan or reduces disease incidence in healthy adults
- Published results rest on epigenetic age estimates, which are statistical models built from methylation data rather than measured health outcomes
- The trial base is small, recent and, in the key case, single blind rather than double blind
- Optimal frequency, total number of sessions and durability of any effect are all unknown
- Long term safety data in healthy adults undergoing repeated exchange does not yet exist
Why we put this on the page. Many clinics offering plasma exchange for longevity present the second column as though it were the first. We would rather you arrive knowing the difference, which is exactly why the Founding 50 begins with testing and a physician suitability consultation rather than a treatment chair.
Primary sources
Fuentealba et al. Aging Cell 2025 · randomized trial
Kim et al. GeroScience 2022 · proteomics
ASFA guidelines · J Clin Apheresis
Terumo BCT · Spectra Optia
The 2025 trial was single blind, small, and measured epigenetic age estimates rather than clinical outcomes. It was supported by Circulate, Inc.; Kiprov, Verdin and Furman are members of Circulate, and Furman is a founder of Edifice Health.
A medical procedure, treated like one. TPE is a medical procedure with known risks and contraindications. Every Founding 50 participant undergoes physician evaluation before treatment.
Your Founding 50 journey
A clear, structured process
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01
Apply
Complete a short medical prescreen.
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02
Test
Total Tox Burden Assessment, comprehensive bloodwork and medical intake.
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03
Review
Meet with your physician to review your results, medical history and health objectives.
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04
Decide
Determine whether TPE is medically appropriate for you.
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05
Treat
If appropriate and you elect to proceed, schedule your treatment at your $9,500 Founding 50 price.
Why the Founding 50?
We're limiting the initial program to 50 participants so our clinical team can deliver the level of evaluation, oversight and follow-through the program requires.
This isn't a TPE sale.
It's the beginning of a clinical program.
Not ready to start? Download our TPE Guide
- Personalized attention
- Comprehensive evaluation
- Physician oversight
- Long-term perspective
Frequently asked questions
Your questions, answered
What exactly is included in the Founding 50?
Therapeutic Plasma Exchange, a Total Tox Burden Assessment, comprehensive bloodwork and a Physician Suitability Consultation. Together they represent a $13,000 value, offered to the first 50 participants for $9,500.
Does joining guarantee that I can receive TPE?
No. Every participant is tested and evaluated first. Your physician recommends TPE only if it is medically appropriate for you.
What happens if I'm not a candidate?
Your physician will review your results with you and discuss other options that may fit your health objectives. Our team will explain how your enrollment applies before you join.
How long is my $9,500 price reserved?
Your Founding 50 price is held through your testing, physician review and treatment decision. Our team will confirm your timeline at enrollment.
Does plasma exchange reverse aging?
No study has shown that. A randomized trial published in Aging Cell in 2025 reported reductions in epigenetic age estimates in healthy adults over fifty. That trial was single blind, small, and funded by a company several of its authors are members of. Epigenetic age is an estimate derived from methylation patterns, not a measured outcome such as function, disease incidence or lifespan.
Does it hurt?
The needle placement is comparable to donating blood, and the exchange itself is not painful. The most common sensation is tingling around the mouth or fingertips from the anticoagulant, which is managed during the session by adjusting the rate.
Is the $9,500 applied toward treatment?
Your Founding 50 enrollment covers your testing, your physician consultation and, if your physician determines it is appropriate, your Therapeutic Plasma Exchange.
What is Total Tox testing?
The Total Tox Burden Assessment is a comprehensive assessment designed to evaluate potential environmental toxicant burden. It gives your physician a deeper baseline before any treatment decision.
Can I use insurance?
The Founding 50 Program is offered at a fixed self-pay price. Contact our team with any questions about payment.
How quickly do I need to complete my testing?
Our team schedules your lab draw after enrollment. Total Tox results generally take 2 to 4 weeks, and your Suitability Consultation is scheduled once results are in.
Who is not a candidate?
Anyone who cannot tolerate the fluid shifts involved, including people with unstable cardiac or renal disease, active infection, clotting disorders, poor venous access, or who are pregnant. Certain medications also interact with the procedure. This is decided at evaluation, not by questionnaire.
How is this different from an IV drip?
Entirely different. An IV adds fluid and nutrients to circulation. Plasma exchange removes a measured volume of plasma and replaces it. One is additive and low risk; the other is a prescription apheresis procedure requiring clinical supervision.
A procedure this serious deserves a reason this specific.
Anil Bajnath, MD · Institute for Human Optimization
50 patients. One opportunity.
Join the Founding 50
Comprehensive testing. Physician evaluation. Therapeutic Plasma Exchange. A $13,000 value for $9,500.
Not ready to start? Our TPE Guide explains the therapy, the process and who it may be right for. Limited to 50 qualified participants.
$13,000Regular value
$9,500Founding 50
$3,500You save
- Therapeutic Plasma Exchange
- Total Tox Burden Assessment
- Comprehensive Bloodwork
- Physician Suitability Consultation
Therapeutic Plasma Exchange is a prescription medical procedure provided only following evaluation and order by a licensed physician, and performed by qualified medical personnel. Enrollment in the Founding 50 Program does not guarantee treatment, and nothing on this page constitutes medical advice, a diagnosis, or a recommendation that you undergo this procedure.
Research into plasma exchange for age related indications is early. Published findings rely substantially on epigenetic age estimates, which are statistical models derived from methylation data and are not measurements of health, function, disease risk or lifespan. No trial has demonstrated that plasma exchange extends lifespan or prevents disease in healthy adults. Individual results vary and no specific outcome is guaranteed.
Reported reactions associated with automated apheresis include anxiety, headache, light headedness, tingling of the fingers or face, fever, chills, hematoma, hyperventilation, nausea and vomiting, fainting, hives, hypotension and allergic reactions. Risks and alternatives are reviewed with you in person before consent. Institute for Human Optimization, 7030 Hi Tech Drive, Suite 101, Hanover, MD 21076.
Founding 50 · $9,500
Physician-led TPE · evaluation first