Ultraviolet blood irradiation

Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield · Knott · 1930

What it is

UBI is a medical procedure in which some of a person's blood is taken from a vein, exposed to ultraviolet light outside the body (or, in newer variants, light is shone into the vein through a catheter), and returned to the circulation. Variants include laser blood irradiation applied in a vein,…

Format

• The procedure as clients experience it (qualitative, as reported). The client sits or reclines in a clinic chair with an intravenous line. In the traditional closed-loop version, blood flows out, through a light chamber, and back into the vein; historically the blood was mixed with an anti-clotting…
• Discovery and recording. Goal: know that the client is using or considering UBI, why, where, at what cost, and whether the treating doctor knows. Typically folded into intake or the first session after disclosure. Move on once the facts are recorded without judgement.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Version followed: ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI) as described in the historical Knott-device literature of the 1930s–40s and by current US clinics and device sellers (including combined UV-and-ozone "EBOO" systems and catheter-based "intravenous UV/laser" variants), as reported by the FDA, the FTC, a 2017 proponent review and press coverage. There is no single founder's manual or certifying organisation; this…
• US regulation: in 2025 the FDA classified UV/ozone autohemotherapy devices marketed for autoimmune, cardiovascular and respiratory disease as devices and found them adulterated for lacking premarket approval, and misbranded; a 2016 press report said the older light-box method was "FDA-approved" many years ago while the catheter device was not approved for US commercial use.
• EU: a 2016 report states that one catheter-based model received European approval in 2015.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence: no good scientific evidence supports its uses; the historical literature consists of uncontrolled case series, and mainstream experts regard the claims as unsubstantiated; a proponent review calls Western opinion "highly controversial".

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• shame at having been misled; reluctance to complain against a valued practitioner.
• reassurance-seeking moving from doctors to clinics; escalating invasiveness of procedures; despair after failure. Cross-reference: Domain II.
• refusal of consent (respect it unless a risk threshold is met; keep the door open); the client asking the therapist for medical opinion (redirect each time).
• the client's fear of retaliation or of losing the clinic community; mandatory duties that override confidentiality (follow local law and your professional code).
• expectations of cure for serious illness; all-or-nothing hope; grief or anger at mainstream care underneath; a need being met (being heard) that therapy can also meet. Working when: the client…

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.