Ocular surface · autologous biologic
Plasma eye drops.
Serum or plasma from your own blood, diluted into sterile eye drops, for moderate-to-severe dry eye and ocular surface disease that hasn't responded to standard care. The drops have few platelets and carry many of the same proteins and vitamins found in natural tears.
What plasma eye drops can help with
Conditions plasma and serum drops are most often used for.
Blood-derived eye drops are generally considered for ocular surface disease that persists despite artificial tears, prescription drops, and other standard measures. Fit is determined with your eye-care provider.
Moderate-to-severe dry eye
Aqueous-deficient and evaporative dry eye not controlled by artificial tears.
Persistent epithelial defects
Corneal surface wounds that are slow to close after injury or surgery.
Recurrent corneal erosion
Repeated breakdown of the corneal surface, often worst on waking.
Neurotrophic keratopathy
Reduced corneal sensation with impaired surface healing.
Sjögren's & autoimmune
Ocular surface disease in Sjögren's syndrome and related conditions.
Graft-versus-host
Ocular GVHD-related dryness and surface breakdown after transplant.
Post-LASIK & surgical
Post-LASIK dry eye and ocular surface symptoms after corneal procedures.
Neuropathic corneal pain
Persistent surface pain and hypersensitivity, co-managed case-by-case.
Learn
What are plasma eye drops?
Plasma and serum eye drops are a topical treatment made from a small sample of your own blood. The blood is processed to separate its liquid fraction, which is diluted with sterile saline to a prescribed strength and dispensed in sterile dropper bottles you use at home.
Unlike PRP, this fraction has few platelets. It carries many of the substances found in natural tears, including vitamin A, EGF, TGF-β, fibronectin, lysozyme, and immunoglobulins, at levels close to those in the body. As a drop on the eye, it may help nourish and support the eye's surface cells. Artificial tears don't contain these substances.
The two preparations differ in one detail: serum is what remains after blood is allowed to clot, while plasma is separated from anticoagulated blood and retains clotting proteins such as fibrinogen. Both are platelet-poor and blood-derived; the most extensively studied form is autologous serum. Because the drops come from your own blood, an allergic reaction to them is unlikely.
Regulatory Disclaimer
Autologous serum and plasma eye drops are a biologic product prepared from a patient's own blood. They have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of dry eye or other ocular surface diseases. Clinical use is based on physician judgment, current scientific evidence, and individualized patient evaluation, in co-management with the patient's eye-care provider where appropriate. No claims are made regarding guaranteed outcomes, tissue regeneration, or cure.
The procedure, step by step
How plasma eye drops are prepared.
A single in-clinic blood draw produces a supply of drops you take home. Most of the visit is lab processing time.
Consultation & review
We review your diagnosis and prior treatments, and coordinate with your eye-care provider where appropriate.
Blood collection
A single venous draw, into clotting tubes for serum, or anticoagulated tubes for plasma, sized for your dosing supply.
Separation
The sample is allowed to clot or rest, then centrifuged to separate the platelet-poor serum or plasma fraction in our on-site lab.
Dilution & aliquoting
The fraction is diluted with sterile saline to your prescribed concentration and aliquoted into individual sterile dropper bottles.
Dispense & instructions
You take home a frozen supply with storage, handling, and dosing instructions. Refrigerate the bottle in use.
Preparing your own blood products, checking them, and handling them safely is the center of our work, the same lab work behind our orthopedic care. We're a PRP and orthobiologics practice, not an eye clinic, so we work alongside the ophthalmologist or optometrist who diagnoses and follows your eye condition.
How it compares
Plasma drops, PRP eyedrops, and artificial tears.
All three address dryness, but they differ in what they actually deliver to the ocular surface. The right choice depends on your diagnosis.
Artificial tears
Over-the-counter lubricants that supplement the tear film. They relieve symptoms but contain none of the biologic proteins of natural tears.
Lubrication only · no growth factors
Plasma eye drops
Made from your own blood, with few platelets. They carry many of the proteins, vitamins, and growth factors found in natural tears, at levels close to those in the body.
Tear-like proteins · vitamin A · physiologic growth factors
PRP eyedrops
Made from your own blood and platelet-concentrated, so the drops carry higher peaks of platelet-derived growth factors alongside tear-like proteins.
Concentrated platelet growth factors + tear proteins
These differences come from the studies listed at the bottom of this page. Which preparation is appropriate is an individualized clinical decision. Compare with PRP eyedrops →
Talking it through
When plasma eye drops are worth considering.
Blood-derived eye drops are usually considered after standard treatments, and they're used together with the care your eye-care provider directs.
What we look at together
- Moderate-to-severe dry eye or ocular surface disease diagnosed by your eye-care provider
- Symptoms persisting through artificial tears, prescription drops, and lid care
- Conditions such as Sjögren's, neurotrophic keratopathy, recurrent erosion, or ocular GVHD
- Willing to self-administer drops several times daily and store them frozen as directed
- Realistic expectations: gradual improvement, reassessed over weeks
Plasma eye drops, answered
Questions about plasma and serum eye drops.
What is the difference between serum and plasma eye drops? +
Both are made from your own blood, and both are platelet-poor. Serum is the fluid left after blood is allowed to clot; plasma is separated from anticoagulated blood and still contains clotting proteins such as fibrinogen. Both supply the tear-like proteins, vitamins, and growth factors naturally found in blood. The most studied form is autologous serum. Which preparation suits you is decided with your eye-care provider.
How are plasma eye drops different from PRP eyedrops? +
PRP eyedrops are platelet-concentrated, so they carry higher peaks of platelet-derived growth factors. Plasma and serum drops have few platelets and carry many of the substances found in natural tears, including vitamin A, EGF, TGF-β, fibronectin, lysozyme, and immunoglobulins, at levels close to those in the body. Neither is better for everyone. The right preparation depends on your diagnosis.
What conditions are plasma and serum eye drops used for? +
Most often moderate-to-severe dry eye disease, persistent corneal epithelial defects, recurrent corneal erosion, neurotrophic keratopathy, ocular graft-versus-host disease, and ocular surface disease in conditions such as Sjögren's syndrome, typically after standard therapies have not been enough.
How are the drops diluted, stored, and used? +
The serum or plasma is diluted with sterile saline to a prescribed concentration, commonly 20% to 50%, and dispensed as individual sterile dropper bottles. The bulk supply is kept frozen, and the bottle in use is refrigerated. You self-administer the drops several times a day on the schedule your provider prescribes. Because they're made from your own blood, an allergic reaction to the drops is unlikely.
What are the risks and side effects? +
The blood draw can leave a bruise or make you feel lightheaded for a few minutes. In the eye, the most common effects are brief stinging or blurred vision right after a drop. Because the drops contain no preservatives, a bottle that is handled or stored the wrong way can grow bacteria and cause an eye infection. We show you how to store the bottles, how long each one lasts once opened, and when to throw it away. Call us at 720-550-6175 and contact your eye-care provider right away if your eye becomes red, painful, or sensitive to light, or if your vision gets worse.
Are plasma eye drops FDA-approved, and does insurance cover them? +
Autologous serum and plasma eye drops are prepared from your own blood and are not approved by the FDA as a drug for ocular surface disease. Clinical use is based on physician judgment and individualized evaluation. The preparation is generally considered investigational by insurers and is typically out-of-pocket; we provide documentation for HSA/FSA reimbursement where applicable.
Selected references
What the peer-reviewed literature says.
Peer-reviewed studies our plasma and serum eyedrop framing draws from, spanning dry eye, Sjögren's, persistent epithelial defects, neurotrophic keratopathy, and graft-versus-host disease. Full PDFs available at consultation.
- Pan Q, Angelina A, Marrone M, Stark WJ, Akpek EK. Autologous serum eye drops for dry eye. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;2:CD009327.
- Geerling G, Maclennan S, Hartwig D. Autologous serum eye drops for ocular surface disorders. Br J Ophthalmol. 2004;88(11):1467–1474.
- Tsubota K, Goto E, Fujita H, et al. Treatment of dry eye by autologous serum application in Sjögren's syndrome. Br J Ophthalmol. 1999;83(4):390–395.
- Tsubota K, Goto E, Shimmura S, Shimazaki J. Treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defect by autologous serum application. Ophthalmology. 1999;106(10):1984–1989.
- Kojima T, Ishida R, Dogru M, et al. The effect of autologous serum eyedrops in the treatment of severe dry eye disease: a prospective randomized case-control study. Am J Ophthalmol. 2005;139(2):242–246.
- Noble BA, Loh RS, MacLennan S, et al. Comparison of autologous serum eye drops with conventional therapy in a randomised controlled crossover trial for ocular surface disease. Br J Ophthalmol. 2004;88(5):647–652.
- Matsumoto Y, Dogru M, Goto E, et al. Autologous serum application in the treatment of neurotrophic keratopathy. Ophthalmology. 2004;111(6):1115–1120.
- Ogawa Y, Okamoto S, Mori T, et al. Autologous serum eye drops for the treatment of severe dry eye in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2003;31(7):579–583.
- Aggarwal S, Colon C, Kheirkhah A, Hamrah P. Efficacy of autologous serum tears for treatment of neuropathic corneal pain. Ocul Surf. 2019;17(3):532–539.
- Anitua E, Muruzabal F, Tayebba A, Riestra A, Perez VL, Merayo-Lloves J, et al. Autologous serum and plasma rich in growth factors in ophthalmology: preclinical and clinical studies. Acta Ophthalmol. 2015;93(8):e605–e614.
- Fox RI, Chan R, Michelson JB, Belmont JB, Michelson PE. Beneficial effect of artificial tears made with autologous serum in patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Arthritis Rheum. 1984;27(4):459–461.
- Wang L, Cao K, Wei Z, et al. Autologous serum eye drops versus artificial tears for dry eye disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ophthalmic Res. 2020;63:443–451.
Related therapies
Other blood-derived options we offer.
Schedule a call
Find out if plasma eye drops fit your case.
Dr. Glowney reviews your diagnosis, prior treatments, and imaging, and coordinates with your eye-care provider, then gives an honest recommendation on whether serum or plasma eye drops are the right next step.
720-550-6175