# Ads for platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a blood-based shot, leave out details that matter *Advertisements for blood-based care | PRP Injections Tempe* > PRP injections Tempe help for checking treatment claims, expected soreness, recovery, cost and whether the care fits you. You'll learn which details are often missing from an advertisement for PRP. Platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, is a shot made after a machine separates your blood. The clinic keeps more platelets, the tiny cells that help bleeding stop, and places that part near the ache. Clinics don't all make the same mixture. I'd ask what is in the shot before I paid for it. A broad promise isn't a personal answer. ## Research on one joint doesn't answer for another joint Knee studies give mixed answers. Some found more relief with PRP than with other joint care. Another found no more relief than saline, sterile salt water used for comparison. Ankle and Achilles tendon studies haven't shown the same help reported in some knee studies. None of this can tell you exactly what you'll feel. Here is what matters most. Ask which body part the study covered and what treatment PRP was compared with. Ask how long the researchers checked on people after treatment. Relief soon afterward doesn't show that it lasted. A person's good result may be sincere, but it can't predict yours. An honest answer includes those limits. ## A good clinic answer is clear enough to check Clinics can keep different amounts of clotting cells, white blood cells, and red blood. They may also handle those cells differently before giving the shot. Researchers don't yet know which mixture works best for every sore joint. Ask what your clinic prepares and why it chose that mixture. The treated spot may ache or swell afterward. You need to know what is expected and what change calls for help. Ask about limits on walking, driving, work, and exercise. Insurance often doesn't pay, so request the full price in writing. QC Kinetix offers biologic therapies, meaning non-surgical care that clinic staff prepare from your blood and place near the sore area. Relief isn't certain. Good care makes room for what nobody knows yet. ## Sources 1. FDA states verbatim of stem cell, stromal vascular fraction, umbilical cord blood, Wharton's jelly, amniotic fluid and exosome products: 'None of these products have been approved for the treatment of any orthopedic condition, such as osteoarthritis, tendonitis, disc disease, tennis elbow, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain, or shoulder pain.' The only FDA-approved stem cell products in the United States are blood-forming cells from umbilical cord blood, approved only for disorders of blood production, and there are no FDA-approved exosome products. PRP is a different product from all of these and the categories must not be blurred in either direction. U.S. Food and Drug Administration — [Consumer Alert on Regenerative Medicine Products Including Stem Cells and Exosomes](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/consumers-biologics/consumer-alert-regenerative-medicine-products-including-stem-cells-and-exosomes). *FDA (Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research)*, 2020. 2. In January 2025 the FTC and the Georgia Attorney General obtained federal court orders permanently BANNING the co-founders of the Stem Cell Institute of America and related companies from marketing stem cell therapy, plus $5,155,146 in civil penalties and consumer refunds. The court found on summary judgment that the defendants published false and misleading advertisements about the efficacy and approval of stem cell injections for conditions including osteoarthritis; the affiliated clinic had charged up to $5,000 per injection, almost exclusively to elderly and disabled consumers. Federal Trade Commission — [Stem Cell Institute Co-Founders and Companies Banned from Marketing Stem Cell Treatments and Ordered to Pay More Than $5.1 Million for Refunds and Civil Penalties](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/stem-cell-institute-co-founders-companies-banned-marketing-stem-cell-treatments-ordered-pay-more-51). *FTC Press Release*, 2025. 3. A web surveillance study of regenerative medicine clinics in the US-Mexico border region found 99.1% of the clinic websites mentioned no affiliation with an academic institution or other overt token of scientific legitimacy, 67.3% claimed autologous tissue as the source of treatment, and most did not specify the route of administration. Of the Tijuana clinics identified, 13 claimed licensing but only one matched available licensing records. Chavez J, Shah NA, Ruoss S, et al. — [Online marketing practices of regenerative medicine clinics in US-Mexico border region: a web surveillance study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33736697/). *Stem Cell Research & Therapy*, 2021. DOI: 10.1186/s13287-021-02254-4. 4. The Cochrane review of STEM CELL injections for knee osteoarthritis concluded that on low-certainty evidence they may slightly improve pain and function, with uncertainty about effects on quality of life, treatment success and structural progression, and uncertainty about safety. This matters on a PRP site because 'stem cell therapy' is routinely used as a marketing label for PRP; they are different products with different evidence and PRP must never be described as a stem cell treatment. Whittle SL, Johnston RV, McDonald S, et al. — [Stem cell injections for osteoarthritis of the knee](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40169165/). *Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews*, 2025. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013342.pub2. 5. The devices used to spin PRP at the point of care are cleared by FDA as clinical centrifuges, product code JQC, a Class I device under 21 CFR 862.2050 - for example the Biomet GPS Platelet Separation Kit (K030555, cleared 2003) and the Harvest SmartPrep2 / SmartPrep Platelet Concentration System (K103340, cleared 2010). That clearance covers the equipment that separates blood. It is not an FDA approval of platelet-rich plasma as a treatment for osteoarthritis, tendinopathy or any other orthopedic condition, and copy must never blur the two. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Center for Devices and Radiological Health) — [510(k) Premarket Notification database and Product Classification: JQC, Centrifuges (Micro, Ultra, Refrigerated) For Clinical Use, 21 CFR 862.2050](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfPCD/classification.cfm?ID=JQC). *FDA accessdata (CDRH device databases)*, 2003. 6. A systematic review of 105 clinical PRP studies in orthopaedics published 2006-2016 found that only 11 (10%) described the preparation protocol clearly enough for another investigator to repeat it, and only 17 (16%) reported any quantitative metric of the final PRP composition. The authors concluded that the current reporting of PRP preparation and composition does not allow the PRP products actually delivered to patients to be compared between studies. Chahla J, Cinque ME, Piuzzi NS, et al. — [A Call for Standardization in Platelet-Rich Plasma Preparation Protocols and Composition Reporting: A Systematic Review of the Clinical Orthopaedic Literature](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29040132/). *Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American)*, 2017. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.16.01374. 7. A technical and biological review screened 1379 studies and identified 50 commercial PRP preparation systems in three technical categories (tubes, syringes, bags). Sufficient biological characterisation was available for only 14 of those 50 systems. Comparing the 36 characterised preparations across the seven existing PRP classifications revealed 'a large heterogeneity among the available current PRP commercial systems' and showed the classifications themselves differ in how well they discriminate between preparations. Magalon J, Brandin T, Francois P, et al. — [Technical and biological review of authorized medical devices for platelets-rich plasma preparation in the field of regenerative medicine](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33155867/). *Platelets*, 2021. DOI: 10.1080/09537104.2020.1832653. ## Bring your joint questions to the visit Have your medicines written down, along with when the soreness started. Say which motion hurts and what care you've tried. Ask what the clinic learned during the exam, which choices may suit you, how recovery works, and what you'll pay. For most of Tempe, the Chandler location at 1100 S. Dobson Rd., Suite 210 is the direct route. From north Tempe, Scottsdale might take less time. Call (602) 837-PAIN. Book a free consultation: --- Straight talk for a sore joint. Plain answers for joint aches, warning signs, PRP facts and nearby care in Tempe. Clear facts about aching joints, PRP, urgent symptoms, and local care. This site is operated by the owners of the QC Kinetix Phoenix-area clinics, including the Chandler and Scottsdale locations described here, and the owners benefit when a reader books. Copyright 2026 The Tempe PRP Ledger. General education only; a clinician who can examine you should advise on your own care.