Allogenic Platelet-Rich Plasma in Joint Pathologies: A Scoping Review of Basic Science and Clinical Outcomes

Abstract

Objective Allogenic platelet-rich plasma(PRP) has emerged as a promising alternative to autologous PRP for treating joint pathologies, offering potential advantages in consistency, cost, and applicability across patient demographics. This scoping review aims to firstly, examine the basic science of allogenic PRP and secondly, assess its clinical outcomes in joint diseases. Design A scoping review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, encompassing studies from 2010 to 2025, across databases such as Embase, PubMed, and SCOPUS. The selection criteria included controlled laboratory studies, cohort studies, and randomised controlled trials focusing on the basic science, safety profile, and clinical outcomes of allogenic PRP. Results A total of 20 studies were included. In vivo and in vitro, allogenic PRP demonstrates anti-inflammatory and pro-regenerative properties. Clinically, it showed consistent patient-reported outcome improvements in the short term up to 6 months, significantly reducing VAS pain scores by up to 25% and improving joint function scores such as WOMAC, IKDC in knees and DASH and SPADI in shoulders. However, there is a lack of long-term superiority data. Clinician-reported outcomes, such as range of motion and imaging, were similarly improved; ultrasonography-detected effusion in knee OA improved and measured femoral cartilage thickness by 22%. The safety profile was generally favourable, with mild, transient adverse events and no severe complications reported. Conclusions Current literature supports allogenic PRP as potentially effective and safe investigational therapy, but not as an established clinical treatment given the lack of standardisation and long-term superiority data.