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Vampire Facial® Imposter Pleads Guilty

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On June 24, 2022, the attorney general for New Mexico (Hector Balderas) announced that he secured a guilty plea for 4 felonies from a spa owner who was unlicensed to do the Vampire Facial®. Because the procedure was done incorrectly, at least two people contracted HIV.

Procedures involving blood are done routinely by most medical clinics on a daily basis; but, the Vampire Facial® is sometimes not understood (even by some physicians) because the device used to do the procedure should be approved by the FDA and the procedure must be done in a specific way in order to assure safety and the best possible clinical and cosmetic outcome.

Rolling Stone reported that only those listed on the official Vampire Facial® directory are licensed by the Cellular Medicine Association to perform the procedure. All others are illegally advertising and could be following dangerous practices.

Here’s where to find a licensed Vampire Facial® provider<–

Here’s where physicians and their extenders can apply for training<-–

HIV, New Mexico, News

New Mexico, Illegal, Vampire Facial® Imposters

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Published April 25, 2024. This is an update to the following post (see below) published Dec 10, 2019

A fourth person has been diagnosed with HIV after receiving services from someone illegally advertising the Vampire Facial® procedure in New Mexico.

Here’s the story<–

You will find other journal articles about the event at the bottom of this page.

Please note that the providers (now in prison) were
illegally ADVERTISING
the procedure
but were NOT DOING
the Vampire Facial® procedure.

The Vampire Facial® procedure is a very specific and safe way of doing a procedure protected by a type of trademark called a service mark–a way of distinguishing a service from other services (click for more details).

Charles Runels, MD, registered the Vampire Facial® name in 2013 and owns the mark.

The registration can be seen at the US Patent & Trademark Office here<–

The members of the Cellular Medicine Association support research and development regarding cellular therapies for multiple diseases and license the use of the mark after understanding the procedure and agreeing to follow the highest safety guidelines.

The providers of the procedure that made people sick and contributed to the recent tragedy were never trained to perform the Vampire Facial® procedure. They were doing something else that was dangerous; they did not perform a Vampire Facial; they only falsely advertised that they did.

For it to be a Vampire Facial® procedure, all the following should be included and more:

(1) FDA-approved device (where every part of it exposed to blood is thrown away with no chance of cross-contamination). It involves

(2) an FDA-approved centrifuge.

(3) providers with licensing and experience in handling blood products.

(4) Documentation of the provider’s understanding of our protocol.

The providers in New Mexico did none of those four things and were NOT listed on our directory–not ever. So, they illegally used the Vampire Facial name to attract people to do something that was NOT a Vampire Facial®.

Those listed in our directory have provided proof of proper medical licensing, demonstrated an understanding of the procedure, and signed a legal document agreeing to follow the complete protocol. Anyone not on our directory and advertising the procedure may be doing something safe, but at least they illegally use our name.

To help prevent such tragedies, the Cellular Medicine Association spends a million dollars a year or more, shutting down the false advertising of those who illegally use our name.

Potential patients should find a provider from our directory of licensed Vampire Facial® providers for a safe procedure with the best results.

Medscape review of the HIV incident involving those falsely advertising the Vampire Facial® procedure.

For further information, please get in touch with the owner of the Vampire Facial® name,
Charles Runels, MD
1-888-920-5311 or support@cellularmedicineassociation.org

Post from December 10, 2019

A recent incident in New Mexico occurred at a center illegally using our name (Vampire Facial®).  Qualified medical professionals handle blood all day long without serious problems (in emergency rooms, in operating rooms, and in offices) and this procedure is even safer since it’s done with the patient’s own blood.

Done properly, FDA-approved devices are used and nothing in the room with one patient has on it even the possibility of one drop of blood from any previously treated patient.

But done improperly–people can be killed by cross-contamination. The providers in New Mexico under investigation were imposters who were not licensed to use our name “Vampire Facial”, were never licensed to use the name, were never properly trained, and were never on our list of certified providers.

Real Self talks about how to find a safe Vampire Facial®<–

The Rolling Stone talks about the Vampire Facial® & goat meat (click)<–

From the New York Daily News (click)<—

Newsweek Warning about the Vampire Facial® (click)<–

Further important details about the New Mexico incident and important warnings can be found here (click)<–

HIV, Legal, New Mexico, News, Press, Video, Warning

HIV Contracted After Vampire Facial®–Warning & the Truth

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Cellular Medicine Association
April 30, 2019
FAIRHOPE, AL, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ —

The possible contraction of HIV by 2 people after receiving an improperly done procedure falsely advertised as a Vampire Facial® necessitates repeating a very important warning:

The Vampire Facial®, Vampire Facelift®, O-Shot®, & P-Shot® are all “service marks.” Service marks are a particular type of trademark that indicates a very specific method of doing something.
The Cellular Medicine Association and Dr. Charles Runels (the originator of the “Vampire” procedures) license providers of the above procedures when providers receive training and agree to follow the recommended methods. This then gives the provider the rights to use the service mark to advertise the procedures. Then people who wish to have a procedure done can identify those providers who are licensed and so who have demonstrated an understanding of the best way to optimize results and minimize risks.

Because the procedure involves a device that punctures the skin (microneedling), the procedure can spread disease if done improperly. Some of the cheaper devices used to do the microneedling will suck blood up into the handle; therefore the next patient could potentially be inoculated with the blood-borne pathogens from all of the people previously treated with that same device—medically similar to having sex with everyone previously treated.

Also, the device used to prepare the patient’s own blood for topical treatment after the microneedling component of the Vampire Facial® is done, should be approved by the FDA for preparation of blood to go back into the body. Kits made to analyze blood for testing should not be used.

The FDA does not approve a person’s own blood, nor does the FDA approve procedures. But, the FDA does and should approve both the device used to create the microneedling-puncture wounds as well as the device used to prepare the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) used drip onto the skin after the microneedling.

Dr. Runels (called the “Orgasm Doctor” by Cosmopolitan & by the Guardian) thinks of himself as a “Calvin Klein of medicine,” & initially designed the Vampire Facelift® procedure. Out of that process he designed the Orgasm Shot®, the Vampire Facial®, & Vampire Wing Lift™, Vampire Beast Lift®, and the Priapus Shot® procedures—all created Dr. Runels combining science with the principles of art.
To help keep patients safe, Dr. Runels secured trademarks (service marks) with the US Patent & Trademark Office so that he could protect patients by limiting advertising of these procedures to providers who agree to follow specific methods and to use FDA approved devices. These marks serve to identify providers who understand the design in the same way a Calvin Klein tag goes on a garment manufactured by another person but who follows Mr. Klein’s design.

The clinic in New Mexico was illegally using the Vampire Facial® name. Licensed providers of the procedure can be found on the official website, VampireFacial.com

The Cellular Medicine Association (CMA), founded by Dr. Runels, licenses providers to do the above procedures and coordinates and supports the research and clinical practice of physicians using cellular medicine for the improvement of health, beauty and sexual relations. Anyone can claim to be doing microneedling, but only those certified by the CMA can claim to be doing the Vampire Facial®. The provider groups include over 2,000 doctors in 54 countries who contribute immensely to the ongoing research, development, & teaching.

More details about the incident in New Mexico and about how to stay safe<–

Contact:
Charles Runels, MD
Medical Director
Cellular Medicine Association
888-920-5311 phone
251-650-1251 fax
DrRunels@CellularMedicineAssociation.org
http://CellularMedicineAssociation.org
SOURCE Cellular Medicine Association