Joe Rogan’s decision to try plasma filtration, also known as plasmapheresis, has become a flashpoint for a wider argument about how new wellness treatments get evaluated before reaching the public. The therapy involves removing blood, filtering the plasma, and replacing it with albumin or, in some cases, human plasma or a mixture containing stem cells and exosomes.
The topic surfaced on Chris Williamson’s podcast, where Rogan’s photos from a plasmapheresis session prompted swift criticism from a physician online. That criticism, and the pushback it drew from guests on the episode, illustrates how contested this therapy has become.
Guest Brigham Buhler describing the online reaction, said: “When Rogan posted his pictures of plasmapheresis, some doctor like talks about how it wrecks the immune system. No, this is a 24-hour decrease in your immune response. And he talked about how there’s no, this is pseudoscience.”
Buhler continued, “Plasmapheresis does have a double blind placebo controlled randomized trial. And that double blind placebo randomized trial showed that it actually took 18 months off of your biological age on people over the age of 50.”
The guest framed the episode as an example of selective skepticism, saying critics want “to split hairs and decide when they want to use double blind placebo control trial and randomized trials and when they don’t.”
Williamson pushed for detail on how the procedure works, asking his guest to explain the mechanics. The description covered a range of blood and plasma filtration protocols people are now pursuing for concerns including microplastics, lipid management, and mold exposure.
Guest Ben Greenfield stated, “There’s all sorts of different blood and plasma filtration protocols that people are turning to for microplastics, for lipid management, for mold.”
He compared it to “an oil change for the body,” noting that clinics abroad, including in Mexico and Europe, offer full blood filtration rather than plasma alone, sometimes using specialized filters designed for spike protein or microplastics.
The panel also discussed a documented real world case involving a patient who had lost significant weight and become chronically inflamed. After plasmapheresis, the patient reported dramatic sleep improvement, illustrating a potential use case beyond anti-aging.
On safety, the guests acknowledged a genuine risk window.
“You have a compromised immune system for 24 hours. So that is a legitimate risk,” Buhler said, adding that patients must be informed of this before undergoing the procedure. A cautionary anecdote was also raised about someone who got on a flight immediately after treatment and felt run down afterward.
