Environmental Question #31 [Removing Microplastics from the Body]

Is there anything we can do to reverse microplastic accumulation in our bodies? The headlines about microplastics in brains and other organs are kind of scary! 

Courtesy of Reddit user u/Perfect_Jump3375

Q: Is there anything we can do to reverse microplastic accumulation in our bodies? The headlines about microplastics in brains and other organs are kind of scary! 

I’ve seen before that if you donate blood, the new blood your body creates to replace it will lower the overall concentration of microplastics. Is that accurate or is it a negligible difference?  

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A:  Today there is no known method for removing microplastics from the body, but there are plenty of medical labs researching possible solutions. I'm nervous about microplastic exposure too, but I implore you not to undergo any of the supposed microplastics cleanses that get advertised online, they're all scams. I've seen people selling laxatives, teas, IV lines, and blood transfusions all to supposedly remove plastic from the body. None of these treatments have been proven to work, and many of them can be actively harmful to your health. Hopefully sometime in the not-too-distant future doctors will come up with a safe and reliable method for cleaning microplastics out of the body. 

While it is technically true that new blood has lower microplastic concentration, it doesn't make a difference practically, since the concentration in the blood isn't actually what matters. Remember that blood is the transport system of the body, its role is to deliver materials, so removing blood does nothing to remove stuff that has already been delivered. To use an analogy, if you wanted to get rid of every mail package in the country, removing all the delivery trucks from the road might cause fewer packages to be added that day, but it does nothing to remove all the packages that are already in post offices and at people's doors. That's particularly true if new trucks get put on the road the next day, which would certainly happen because we can't completely avoid microplastic exposure.

That said though, if you're in good health and would like to donate blood, then I'd still encourage it. Donated blood saves lives, and that is a plenty good reason to donate blood on its own. Just make sure you donate at an actual blood bank where they will make sure not to take too much, and the blood will go to good use. There are some sketchy "blood cleansing" places that are medically irresponsible in their practices. Stay safe out there!