Frequently Asked Questions

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy is a medical treatment that uses a person’s own blood to promote healing and tissue regeneration. It involves extracting a sample of the patient’s own blood, processing it to concentrate the platelets (which are rich in growth factors and healing proteins), and then injecting that platelet-rich plasma back into the injured or affected area.

These growth factors in the platelets stimulate new cell growth to aid in healing and the replacement of damaged or diseased tissues.

The PRP injection process begins with a simple extraction of a small amount of the patient’s blood, which is then placed in a special system(Kit) and a centrifuge to separate the platelets from other blood components. Next, the concentrated platelet-rich plasma is injected into the affected area. These platelets release growth factors that stimulate and increase the number of reparative cells in that area, effectively kickstarting the body’s natural healing process.

Research suggests PRP injections can encourage healing in tissues that have been slow or resistant to it.

They might do this by:

• Triggering short-term inflammation in your tissues, which jump-starts the healing process
• Stimulating collagen production, an important protein your body needs to build tissues
• Encouraging cell division and cellular turnover, which slows with aging and disease
• Reducing inflammation in the long-term, which helps to relieve chronic pain, and join and tendon pain.

The procedure can vary depending on what you’re treating, but most of the steps are the same.

Your provider will:

• Draw your blood to prepare your own platelet-rich plasma. Using your own blood prevents the complications involved in using donor blood. We may draw 30-60 ml of blood.
• Put your blood sample into a special PRP Kit and centrifuge machine. The blood centrifuge spins and separates your blood components by weight, removing blood cells and concentrating the platelets which contains growth factor and other healing agents.
• Inject the finished product (platelet-rich plasma) into your treated area/tissues.

At SD PRP Clinic, we use the EmCyte Pure PRP SP® Concentrating Device kit — a double spin technique that concentrates much much more than the single spin method (concentrate platelets to 6 to 8 times baseline and removes red blood cells). The lack of red blood cells helps prevent and reduce inflammation and pain during and post procedure. The high concentration of platelets increase the effectiveness of the therapy. Most studies shows using a FDA Cleared PRP devices by a trained expert will significantly improve the outcome.

The primary difference between single spin and double spin PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) lies in the centrifugation process and the resulting concentration of platelets in the final PRP product. Both methods are used to prepare PRP , but they differ in terms of platelet concentration and outcome/success rate. Double Spin PRP Kits are proven much more effective.

In single spin PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma), a single centrifugation step is used. The blood sample is centrifuged once to separate its components. This typically yields a PRP with a platelet concentration that is around 3 times greater than that of whole blood. It is generally simpler to process and less pricey.

Double spin PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) involves two centrifugation steps using more sophisticated PRP Systems. The initial spin separates the blood into its primary components, and then a second spin is used to further concentrate the platelets. This typically results in a PRP product with a higher platelet and growth factor concentration, often exceeding around 8 times that of whole blood.

Double spin PRP is believed to be more effective in promoting tissue healing and hair growth due to the higher platelet /growth factor concentration, making it a preferred choice for most expert clinicians and clinical scenarios.

While many medical professional are able to do PRP with some training, FDA clearance means that licensed providers can prescribe and administer PRP if they believe it's in the best interest of the patient. In SD PRP Clinic the injections are done by trained board certified practitioners using one of the best available FDA Cleared systems to achieve the best possible outcome.

Emcyte Pure PRP® is a rejuvenation therapy that concentrates the cells found in your own blood to create anti-ageing treatments to stimulate regeneration in your skin. These systems normally provides upwards of 9 - 23 billion platelets in a 7mL sample of PRP, depending on the patient's baseline level of platelets. It is a clinical marvel with processing power that's not duplicated anywhere.

At the time, we do not have any contract with any insurance providers since majority of them are not covering PRP. It is paid out of pocket and in some cases using HSA Cards.

As previously mentioned, PRP treatment can be time-consuming. It typically requires multiple sessions over several weeks or months in order to see one's desired results. This can be inconvenient and expensive for some patients.

Multiple PRP therapy sessions are required to achieve the desired hair regrowth. Most patients undergo 3 distinct sessions, each occurring at 5-6 week intervals. To maintain the therapy results, patients are recommended to go for single effective sessions every 4-6 months. For other conditions average of 3 sessions are required to achieve the best results.

Time and Procedure Complexity: PRP therapy involves several steps, including blood extraction, special PRP kits for Double Spin method ( main cost ) centrifugation to isolate the platelets, and precise injection into the affected area. This process requires specialized equipment and trained professionals, contributing to the higher cost. Since using FDA Cleared high quality PRP kits plays a very important role in final outcome. At SDPRP we are using one of the best known PRP kits and technologies.

• Patients with Active Cancers, or taking immunosuppressive medications.
• Individuals with Blood Disorders/Any type of blood cancer.
• Current Infections, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis C.
• Cardiovascular disease, which requires taking a blood thinner

Do I need to take time off of work? The actual procedure is done in-office and should take less than 1-2 hours. If you are feeling well and your job does not require strenuous activity, you can probably return to work. For Joint Injections we do recommend taking it easy and resting for 2-3 days after your treatment. For Hair PRP you can return to work the next day. For injections around eyes and face, you might have some swelling or bruising for couple of days.

Having a CBC and a baseline platelet count is helpful. Also having a recent MRI or X ray for Joint /tendon condition is very essential in delivering the PRP Injection to the correct location.

Depending on the injury, 30-60ml (one to two ounces) is drawn with a simple blood draw. The blood is then processed in the lab to produce the PRP This takes about 30 minutes and then the platelets are collected in a syringe leaving 3-7cc (one to two teaspoons) to be placed at the site of injection.

If you get results, the full effects appear within a few days to weeks. For hairs, we normally wait for 4 months to re evaluate for the hair regrow.

In most cases, 3 sessions of hair PRP treatment are needed to provide effective results. Then the maintenance treatment would be one injection every 6 - 12 months. Most patients often start noticing the difference after the 2nd or 3rd session. Some people might see very significant results while some see less visible results depending on many factors.

PRP injections are not permanent, and the length of their effectiveness can vary. Some PRP treatments last up to two years, while others may decrease in effectiveness after about nine months. In many, results may last for much longer. After care and lifestyle plays a very major role in effectiveness and longevity of outcome , for example Sun exposure and smoking may have a negative effect on these .

While PRP is created from the patient's own blood, there is still a possibility of an adverse reaction to the injection, including an allergic reaction. These reactions are typically mild, involving swelling or irritation at the injection site, but in rare cases, they can be more severe.

These injections are performed after a strong topical anesthetic cream is applied to skin or after Lidocaine injection to scalp. Patients typically experience mild pain during the skin and joint treatments. Scalp injections could be more painful than skin injections.