Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Jan;39(1):37-61.
doi: 10.1007/s10815-021-02385-w. Epub 2022 Feb 17.

Ovarian response to intraovarian platelet-rich plasma (PRP) administration: hypotheses and potential mechanisms of action

Serin Seckin  1   2 , Hadi Ramadan  1   2 , Marco Mouanness  2 , Michelle Kohansieh  3 , Zaher Merhi  4   5   6
Affiliations
Review

Ovarian response to intraovarian platelet-rich plasma (PRP) administration: hypotheses and potential mechanisms of action

Serin Seckin et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been used as an adjunct to fertility treatments in women with very low ovarian reserve and premature ovarian insufficiency. Recent literature in both humans and animals suggest that intraovarian PRP administration in the setting of poor ovarian reserve may help ovarian function and increase the chances of pregnancy.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search through PubMed, MEDLINE databases, and recent abstracts published at relevant society meetings was performed and resulted in 25 articles and 2 abstracts published that studied effect of PRP on the ovaries for the purpose of reproduction.

Results: This review article presents all the data published to date pertaining to intraovarian PRP injection and pregnancy, both naturally and after in vitro fertilization. It also presents the most recent data on the use of ovarian PRP in in vitro and animal model studies highlighting the possible mechanisms by which PRP could impact ovarian function.

Conclusions: Even though recent commentaries questioned the use of PRP as an "add-on" therapy in fertility treatment because it has not been thoroughly studied, the recent basic science studies presented here could increase awareness for considering more serious research into the efficacy of PRP as an adjunct for women with poor ovarian reserve, premature ovarian insufficiency, and even early menopause who are trying to conceive using their own oocytes. Given its low-risk profile, the hypothetical benefit of PRP treatment needs to be studied with larger randomized controlled trials.

Keywords: Menopause; Ovarian function; Platelet-rich plasma; Poor ovarian response; Premature ovarian insufficiency.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study flow diagram
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Hypotheses for mechanisms of action of PRP. PRP may (1) activate dormant follicles to develop and mature, thus increasing the number of ovulating follicles and may also (2) stimulate, yet not definite due to the controversy of their existence, ovarian stem cells to differentiate into new oocytes, with the potential to ultimately yield good quality oocytes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Holcomb JB, Tilley BC, Baraniuk S, Fox EE, Wade CE, Podbielski JM, del Junco DJ, Brasel KJ, Bulger EM, Callcut RA, et al. Transfusion of plasma, platelets, and red blood cells in a 1:1:1 vs a 1:1:2 ratio and mortality in patients with severe trauma: the PROPPR randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2015;313(5):471–482. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.12. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pavlovic V, Ciric M, Jovanovic V, Stojanovic P. Platelet rich plasma: a short overview of certain bioactive components. Open Med (Wars) 2016;11(1):242–247. doi: 10.1515/med-2016-0048. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sills ES, Wood SH: Autologous activated platelet-rich plasma injection into adult human ovary tissue: molecular mechanism, analysis, and discussion of reproductive response. Biosci Rep 2019, 39(6). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Middleton KK, Barro V, Muller B, Terada S, Fu FH. Evaluation of the effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy involved in the healing of sports-related soft tissue injuries. Iowa Orthop J. 2012;32:150–163. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee KY, Baker HP, Hanaoka CM, Tjong VK, Terry MA. Treatment of patellar and hamstring tendinopathy with platelet-rich plasma in varsity collegiate athletes: a case series. J Orthop. 2020;18:91–94. doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2019.10.007. - DOI - PMC - PubMed