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.