Fertility treatments are intimidating. Most of us are used to taking medicine in the form of a pill with a simple gulp of water, so moving into a world of syringes, needle sticks and vaginal probe ultrasounds which may be happening on a daily basis around the time you ovulate can leave you feeling more like a science experiment than a parent-to-be.

You might think that emotionally drained fertility patients would turn down any medical treatment that isnt deemed essential. But many of us lurch toward them, asking our doctors and any other providers who will listen to offer us anything that might increase our odds of success, even marginally.

Fertility patients routinely turn to acupuncture , herbal medicine, massage, mindfulness and other treatment modalities in spite of mixed or sparse evidence of their effectiveness. If a suggested treatment wont cause harm and theres even a small chance it might help, patients feel compelled to give it a try. Theres an impulse to leave no stone unturned, particularly when insurance caps or finances limit the number of IVF cycles you can pursue.

In recent years, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been added to the list of adjacent therapies that some patients seek in hopes of increasing their odds of success with IVF .

What is platelet-rich plasma treatment?

PRP treatment takes a small amount of the patients own blood drawn in the same manner as for a laboratory test and spins it at high speed in a centrifuge. This separates the different components of the blood, yielding a portion of plasma (the liquid part of your blood) with a very high concentration of platelets.

We typically associate platelets with clotting, but they are also part of the bodys repair system and integral to healing injuries. Because PRP is derived from your own blood, it carries a lower risk than other elective treatments such as medications or surgeries.