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when the actor orlando bloom The recent revelation that he had undergone a procedure to “clean” his blood raised many eyebrows. Pirates of the Caribbean The star had turned to a treatment called apheresis – a medical procedure in which blood is removed from the body, centrifuged or filtered to remove certain components, then returned in an attempt to flush it out microplastic and other toxic substances.
Apheresis is commonly used to treat conditions such as autoimmune diseases or abnormally high levels of blood cells or proteins.
It is used as a detox microplasticHowever, this is scientifically unproven.
Still, Bloom said he suspects his body has absorbed plastic through daily contact, and he wants to get it out of his system.
He’s probably right about the exposure. Scientists have found microplastics – tiny plastic pieces less than 5 mm in size – in our air, water, soil, food and even inside human tissue. But when it comes to removing them from the bloodstream, this is where Science Becomes blurry.
As researchers studying microplastic contamination, we examined the issue in the context of dialysis – a life-saving treatment for patients with kidney failure. Dialysis filters waste products such as urea and creatinine from the blood, regulates electrolytes, removes excess fluid, and helps maintain blood pressure.
But our study found that while dialysis is a medical miracle, it may also have an ironic downside: It can introduce microplastics into the bloodstream. In some cases, we found that patients undergoing dialysis were being exposed to microplastics during treatment due to the breakdown of plastic components in the equipment – a troubling paradox for a process designed to clean the blood.
Apheresis is closely related to dialysis: both involve removing blood from the body, circulating it through plastic tubing and filters, then returning it, so both procedures carry the same risk of introducing microplastics from the device into the bloodstream.
What are microplastics?
Microplastics are plastic particles ranging in size from about 5 mm (about the length of a grain of rice) to 0.1 microns – smaller than a red blood cell.
Some microplastics are deliberately manufactured, such as the plastic microbeads that were once common in facial scrubs. Others form when large plastic objects degrade over time due to sunlight, friction, or physical stress.
They are everywhere: in the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink. Plastic packaging, synthetic fabrics such as polyester, and even artificial lawns contribute to its spread. Car tires release plastic particles as they wear out, and food heated or stored in plastic containers can release microplastics.
One estimate suggests that the average adult may ingest about 883 microplastic particles – more than half a microgram – per day.
So far, large-scale epidemiological studies have not established any association between microplastic exposure and specific diseases. Such studies are needed, but have yet to be completed.
However, preliminary research suggests that microplastics may be linked to inflammation, cardiovascular conditions, and DNA damage – a potential pathway to cancer.
It is unclear how microplastics behave inside the body: whether they accumulate, how they interact with tissues, and how (or if) the body clears them.
The irony of filtration
It is tempting to believe, as Bloom does, that we can simply “clean” the blood, like draining pasta or purifying drinking water. Just as a strainer filters water from pasta, dialysis machines filter blood – but using far more complex and delicate systems.
These machines rely on plastic components, including tubes, membranes and filters, which are exposed to constant pressure and repeated use. Unlike stainless steel, these materials can degrade over time, potentially leaching microplastics directly into the bloodstream.
About the authors
Rosa Busquets is Associate Professor in the School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry at Kingston University.
Luiza C. Campos is Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering at UCL.
This article is republished from Conversation Under Creative Commons license. read the original article,
Currently, there is no published scientific evidence that microplastics can be effectively filtered from human blood. Therefore, claims that dialysis or other treatments can remove them should be viewed with skepticism, especially when the filtration systems themselves are made of plastic.
While it’s tempting to pursue quick fixes or celebrity-endorsed cleanses, we’re still in the early stages of understanding what microplastics are doing to our bodies – and how to get rid of them. Rather than focusing solely on ways to get plastic out of the bloodstream, a more effective long-term strategy may be to reduce our exposure in the first place.
Bloom’s story highlights a growing public uneasiness: We all know we’re carrying a burden of plastic. But addressing it requires more than wellness trends: It requires rigor. ScienceStrict regulation, and moving away from our dependence on plastic in daily life.