From the blog
EBOO Therapy: What It Does in the Body, Side Effects and Who It Suits
In short: EBOO stands for extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation. Your blood flows from one arm through a sterile, single-use circuit outside the body, and returns through the other arm. At SOMA, the circuit also filters the blood, which is called hemofiltration. A session typically runs 45 to 60 minutes under continuous clinical supervision. Screening is mandatory, and a physician decides whether it suits you.
What is EBOO therapy?
EBOO circulates blood outside the body for oxygenation and ozonation before returning it. SOMA combines this with hemofiltration. "Extracorporeal" means outside the body.
Blood leaves through a small line in one arm and passes through the circuit. It then returns through a small line in the other arm. This continues for the length of the session.
EBOO was developed by a kidney and dialysis team at the University Hospital of Siena in Italy. Its working principle is close to that of dialysis, where blood also passes through a circuit and back.
What is hemofiltration, and how does it fit in?
Hemofiltration is the filtering step: as blood passes through the circuit, a filtration membrane removes unwanted components from the plasma, the liquid part of the blood, before the blood is returned.
At SOMA, EBOO is performed with hemofiltration. Filtering, oxygenation and ozonation all happen in one continuous pass.
What does EBOO do in the body?
EBOO gives the blood a brief, controlled oxidative challenge, and the body's own defence systems respond to it. The chemistry and laboratory findings help explain the biological response.
The ozone is used up quickly. Ozone reacts with natural antioxidants and fats in the blood. This makes short-lived messenger molecules, including hydrogen peroxide. These messengers, not the ozone itself, carry the signal. Our ozone therapy guide explains this step by step.
Cell defence signals. In cultured cells, low-dose ozone activated Nrf2, a protein that turns on genes for antioxidant enzymes, and increased antioxidant-response gene expression. Excessive oxidative stress can damage cells.
The blood shows a measurable response. The Siena team reported that one session raised a marker of oxidation in the blood 4 to 5 times. Protein thiols, which are part of the plasma's antioxidant reserve, fell in proportion. They saw no appreciable breakdown of red cells.
How long does the response last? Ozone reacts rapidly in blood. Cellular signalling can outlast that reaction. Responses are individual, which is why your physician reviews your response between sessions, rather than judging one session alone.
How does SOMA use EBOO?
The main thing EBOO does at SOMA is combine filtering, oxygenation and a controlled ozone signal in one continuous session, across a large volume of blood. It is not offered as a treatment or cure for any disease.
At SOMA, EBOO is most often considered where diagnostics point to chronic inflammatory load, sluggish recovery, immune dysregulation or high oxidative stress. It typically sits alongside nutritional, hormonal and lifestyle work that addresses why that load exists.
Individual responses vary. Your response is measured, not assumed, and it decides what follows.
How is EBOO different from standard ozone therapy?
The ozone is the same; the difference is how much blood is treated. Major autohemotherapy draws and treats a small volume, typically 100 to 200 ml, and returns it. EBOO treats the circulation continuously for roughly 45 to 60 minutes, so it processes a far larger volume, with filtering added.
In the Siena team's published method, up to 4,800 ml of blood was treated in one hour.
What happens during an EBOO session at SOMA?
Before: your vital signs are checked, and your physician confirms you are cleared for that day's session. Two small IV lines are placed, one in each arm.
During: blood flows continuously through the sterile, single-use circuit, and is filtered, oxygenated, ozonated and returned. A typical session runs 45 to 60 minutes under continuous clinical supervision. Most clients read or rest, and the process is generally comfortable.
After: the lines are removed and you can usually resume your day. Your response is noted and reviewed against your protocol. This informs whether and when the next session is scheduled.
Your SOMA physician sets the number and spacing of sessions from your own results.
Who is EBOO not suitable for?
EBOO is not suitable for everyone, and screening at SOMA is mandatory. A SOMA physician decides from your blood work, medical history and current medicines.
Conditions and situations that exclude EBOO entirely include:
some cardiovascular profiles
some clotting profiles
some blood-pressure profiles
pregnancy
These are further points a doctor considers before any ozone or blood-circuit procedure. This is not a complete list:
G6PD deficiency. G6PD is an enzyme that protects red cells from oxidation. Published ozone safety guidance treats G6PD screening as a key safety measure.
Blood-thinning medicines or a bleeding tendency. Published EBOO methods used heparin, a blood thinner, to stop blood clotting in the circuit.
Heart and circulation history. The same guidance advises a heart and circulation check in selected people.
Allergies, including any past reaction to medical equipment or materials.
All your medicines and supplements, so that your doctor can check them against your plan.
If EBOO is not appropriate for you, your physician will say so and propose what your results actually support.
What side effects can EBOO therapy cause?
Possible risks include line-site discomfort, bruising, infection, faintness, blood-pressure changes and bleeding. The Siena team reported more than 1,200 treatments in 82 patients without technical or clinical problems. Even so, no medical procedure is free of risk.
At the line sites. You may have discomfort, bruising or swelling where the lines go in. Infection at a line site is possible with any IV line.
Faintness. Some people feel faint, light-headed, sweaty or sick around any procedure involving blood. This is called a vasovagal reaction, and it is well described in blood donors. It can happen during the procedure or later.
A fall in blood pressure. Blood pressure can drop during procedures that move blood or remove fluid outside the body. This is well described in people on regular dialysis. Your vital signs are checked before each session.
Bleeding or bruising. Any blood-thinning medicine used in a circuit can make bruising or bleeding more likely. Ask your doctor what will be used in your case.
Tiredness. Some people feel tired after ozone treatment.
Serious reported events. Case reports from ozone autohemotherapy describe red-cell breakdown and kidney failure with excessive ozone doses, gas bubbles reaching the brain in people with an opening between the heart's upper chambers, severe allergic reactions linked to equipment materials, and infection when protocols are not followed. A 2026 review found no pattern of frequent serious unexpected harm when a standard protocol was followed. This review concerns ozone autohemotherapy, a different procedure from EBOO with hemofiltration, and it did not set out how often serious events occur. It named screening, controlled dosing and strict sterile technique as the key safety measures.
Tell staff straight away if you feel faint, breathless or unwell, or if you develop chest pain.
How does a SOMA doctor decide if EBOO is right for you?
A SOMA doctor decides from your blood work, history and current medicines, never from a menu. EBOO at SOMA is a physician-prescribed therapy inside a wider protocol, not a standalone purchase.
Your blood work comes first. Where your results suggest your biology may benefit, your physician sets the plan and reviews your response. Every plan begins with a diagnostic consultation, as one part of a plan built around you. The EBOO with hemofiltration page has more detail, and what to expect describes the first consultation.
SOMA centres in Mumbai and New Delhi
EBOO with hemofiltration is given at both SOMA centres:
Mumbai: A-507, Kohinoor Square, N.C. Kelkar Marg, Shivaji Park, Dadar West, Mumbai 400028. Phone +91 98671 94033.
New Delhi: E-354, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi 110048, serving Delhi NCR and Gurugram. Phone +91 87969 92001. More about the New Delhi centre.
The New Delhi centre is independently operated under licence from SOMA Longevity Sciences, and its own doctors lead care there. Both centres follow the same SOMA assessment and diagnostic standards. Online consultations are also available. Contact either centre.
Questions people ask
What is EBOO therapy?
EBOO is a therapy in which blood flows through a sterile, single-use circuit outside the body and returns to you. In the circuit it is enriched with oxygen and treated with medical-grade ozone. At SOMA it is also filtered, which is called hemofiltration.
What are the side effects of EBOO therapy?
Possible risks include line-site discomfort, bruising, infection, faintness, blood-pressure changes and bleeding. Serious events have been reported with ozone procedures. Screening, controlled dosing and clinical supervision are there to lower these risks.
Is EBOO therapy safe?
At SOMA, EBOO uses sterile, single-use circuits and continuous clinical supervision, with mandatory screening first. Like any medical procedure it carries some risk and is not suitable for everyone. Some cardiovascular, clotting and blood-pressure profiles, and pregnancy, exclude it.
How long does an EBOO session take?
A typical session runs 45 to 60 minutes. You can usually resume your day afterwards. Your physician sets the number and spacing of sessions from your own results.
Where can I get EBOO therapy in Mumbai or Delhi?
SOMA gives EBOO with hemofiltration in India at its centres in Dadar West, Mumbai and Greater Kailash II, New Delhi. Every plan at SOMA begins with a diagnostic consultation.
Related guides
Sources
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Bocci V, Zanardi I, Travagli V, Di Paolo N. Oxygenation-ozonation of blood during extracorporeal circulation: in vitro efficiency of a new gas exchange device. Artificial Organs 2007;31(9):743–748. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17725702/
Sagai M, Bocci V. Mechanisms of action involved in ozone therapy: is healing induced via a mild oxidative stress? Medical Gas Research 2011;1:29. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22185664/
Galiè M, Costanzo M, Nodari A, et al. Mild ozonisation activates antioxidant cell response by the Keap1/Nrf2 dependent pathway. Free Radical Biology and Medicine 2018;124:114–121. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29864481/
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This article is for education and general information. It is not a substitute for a medical consultation, diagnosis or treatment. Results vary by individual biology.
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