Blood Boy

About

Blood Boy is a slang term given to a younger person who regularly gives blood and plasma transfusions to older people, typically very wealthy individuals. The term, taken from a 2017 episode of the HBO series Silicon Valley in which they parodied real-world events surrounding billionaire investor and tech mogul Peter Thiel, began to be used online after startups began performing the procedure of young blood transfusions despite it often being criticized as pseudoscience and studies predominantly being done on mice.

Origin

In mid-2016, news surrounding billionaire Peter Thiel first emerged regarding his attempts to prolong his life and "escape death." On August 1st, 2016, Inc.^[4] published an article titled "Peter Thiel Is Very, Very Interested in Young People's Blood," which discussed Thiel's interest in the practice of "having younger people's blood transfused into his own veins" (known as parabiosis).

On May 21st, 2017, the fifth episode of season four of Silicon Valley, titled "The Blood Boy," aired on HBO, introducing the concept to viewers in a scene that quickly went viral. The show, which is a largely satirical take on the real-world Silicon Valley, parodied the buzz surrounding Thiel and the emergence of young blood transfusions the year before. On May 23rd, 2017, the YouTuber Felix^[1] uploaded the scene where the Blood Boy in question nonchalantly walks into frame and begins the process, earning 250,000 views in six years (shown below).

Shortly after the episode's release, social media users began discussing it online as the term "blood boy" initially spread. For example, on May 22nd, 2017, Twitter^[5] user jshorvath247 noted that the Silicon Valley scene was a "subtle jab at Peter Thiel and his alleged 'use of blood boys.'"

Spread

Two weeks later, on May 31st, 2017, CNBC tweeted^[2] about a start-up called Ambrosia that was offering young people $8,000 to allow their blood to be taken for transfusions into older people (shown below, left), garnering a visceral reaction as people began to talk about "literal capitalism vampires" (example shown below, right).

On September 11th, 2017, "blood boy" was then added to Urban Dictionary^[6] by user anthnerd, receiving over 800 likes in roughly five years and defining it as:

A young man who is a healthy specimen (no drinking, smoking, drugs, possibly vegan) and is hired by an tech billionaire to be a source of youthful, healthy blood for him, via regular transfusions.

FDA Statement

On February 19th, 2019, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb then issued a statement on the official FDA website^[7] noting that the administration had become aware of the rise in establishments around the U.S. that were offering infusions of plasma from young donors to treat the effects of a variety of conditions. The FDA notably cautioned consumers against the practice, stating:

We have significant public health concerns about the promotion and use of plasma for these purposes. There is no proven clinical benefit of infusion of plasma from young donors to cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent these conditions, and there are risks associated with the use of any plasma product.

Bryan Johnson Blood Boy Son Controversy

In late May 2023, the term became prominent again as news reports started to talk about Bryan Johnson, a 45-year-old tech CEO millionaire who came under fire for reportedly using his 17-year-old son as a "blood boy." On May 22nd, 2023, Bryan Johnson uploaded a video titled "Will My Son’s Blood Make Me Younger?" in which he discussed the supposed "anti-aging therapy." The video received over 291,000 views and 2,300 comments in 10 days (seen below).

Over the following days, the story went viral with people reacting to it on TikTok and across social media. For example, on May 23rd, 2023, TikToker MeganMakesComedy^[3] uploaded a video discussing the controversial story, receiving nearly 1,300 likes in nine days (shown below).

Search Interest

External References