Guest post by Hawksley regn med
Understanding PRP with Hawksley Regen Med

PRP (platelet-rich-plasma) is one of the most fascinating treatments in aesthetics and for good reason. Not only is it incredibly versatile, but its cellular mechanisms are complex and the area it belongs to, regenerative medicine, is an area of medicine which is receiving an increasingly large amount of research with each passing year. Blood-derived products to stimulate healing began over 45 years ago, although it is only within the last decade that attention has rapidly increased. This means that our understanding of how to utilise and improve regenerative medical treatments is only improving. Before we go any further, we first need to understand the cell at the heart of the treatment; the platelet.
Platelets
Platelets are incredibly unique cells in our body that possess a few key features that have drawn significant interest from multiple areas of medicine. Platelets are one of the cells in our blood that are responsible for maintaining homeostasis in the body. In short, they are responsible for making sure that the body can repair itself. They do this through a few different means; Release of growth factors, recruitment of repair cells, and increasing angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels).
Growth Factors - Messages sent between cells to initiate biological activities
Growth factors act as messages between cells, so that when one cell detects damage, the cells in the area will have the right response to repair the damage.
Platelets release seven main kinds of growth factors, however for our purposes, we'll focus on four; Platelet-derived growth factors (responsible for helping cells multiply and repairing blood vessels), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors (building new blood vessels), Fibroblast Growth Factors (repairs skin and heals wounds), and Epidermal Growth Factors (stimulates cell growth, healing, and skin formation).
As you can probably tell, these growth factors cover a lot of the key areas that aestheticians are looking to treat. If your goal is facial rejuvenation, then why not employ a treatment that can repair scars, repair skin, and also encourage new skin cells to grow, literally making your skin younger, rather than trying to make it appear younger.
If you're looking to treat someone for hair loss, then one of the most essential aspects of activating dormant hair follicles is increasing blood flow to the area. Why not choose a treatment that is well known for the formation of new blood vessels.
It is this range of growth factors that makes PRP an emerging option in orthopaedics, urology, dentistry, dermatology, trichology, and a whole host of other areas.
Activation
When a platelet senses damage in the immediate area, it undergoes a process called activation. This means that it goes from a resting state (not releasing growth factors) to an active state (releasing growth factors, recruiting more cells to the area, or causing blood to clot). Controlling this process of activation is crucial for PRP.
PRP - Process
The overall process of procuring PRP involves taking the patient's blood, spinning the blood sample in the centrifuge to separate platelets into the top of the tube, and the red & white blood cells into the bottom of the tube. The platelets, suspended in plasma at the top of the tube are then extracted and injected into the area being treated.
How to compare PRP Quality - The DEPA Classification
Although the science behind PRP can seem complex, the process itself is fairly straight forward, as is the method of comparing the quality of different PRP systems. In 2017, a research article was published by Dr Jeremy Magalon that was designed to compare the quality of different PRP systems, which he named the DEPA Classification. The name DEPA is actually an abbreviation of the four areas that were found to be the most important to the quality of PRP.
D - Dose: How many platelets are present in your final sample of PRP
E - Efficiency: What percentage of platelets from the original blood sample were recovered
P - Purity: What percentage of cells in the PRP sample are platelets
A - Activation: What proportion of your platelets activate when injected
PRP for different disciplines (orthopaedics, urology, etc.) can differ in terms of desired purity and plasma volume, but generally and specifically for aesthetics, a high score in each of these categories will contribute to a high-quality PRP treatment.
The practicality of achieving a high quality depends on three main areas;
- A high-quality PRP Tube
- A swing out rotor centrifuge
- Proven protocols
The Tubes
For most people who don't spend about 40 hours a week talking to people about PRP, a tube is just a tube. However, there is a lot that goes into a high-quality PRP tube. The role of the PRP tube is to prevent the blood from clotting, recover a high number of platelets, and preserve platelet function during the centrifugation process, while making sure that the PRP that is then injected is also safe for the patient.
A high purity of anticoagulant helps to preserve platelet function and the safety of the patient. The more toxic elements present in your anticoagulant, the higher the chances of harming both the platelets and the patient.
The inside surface of the tubes is also massively important. To the naked eye, looking at one PRP tube compared to another won't show much difference. To a platelet the size of 3 micrometres (or 0.003 milometers) any kind of bump, groove or imperfection can be damaging to the point that you will be sacrificing the function of a large number of platelets, particularly when put under the amount of force generated by a centrifuge.
The Centrifuge
Centrifugation is a fairly simple process, and there are only two types used for the production of PRP; a swing-out rotor centrifuge (tubes become horizontal during centrifugation) and a fixed-angle rotor centrifuge (tubes remain at a 45-degree angle during centrifugation).
During centrifugation, everything in your PRP tubes is pushed straight out, away from the rotor horizontally. When using a fixed-angle rotor centrifuge, all the cells will be pushed against the side of the tube, meaning that the platelets are more likely to become damaged, and less likely to activate and release growth factors.
It also means that your cells will have a more difficult time separating, as they are being forced against the side of the tube, leading to a lower number of platelets in your final dose of PRP and a high number of red and white blood cells. It has been shown that when using a fixed-angle rotor, you can recover between 45 - 60% of platelets from the original blood sample, whereas with a swing-out rotor, you can recover between 80-90%, giving you a much higher efficiency and concentration.
There are other factors that affect how well a centrifuge will be able to support high-quality PRP such as the rate of acceleration and deceleration, and temperature control, but the rotor type will make the biggest difference to the quality of PRP.
The Protocols - The Speed & Duration of Centrifugation
Protocols will vary with each PRP tube manufacturer. There is no one set of protocols that is correct, so the scientific reputation of the manufacturer is vital to have faith in the provided protocols. Protocols are hugely important for both the application and efficacy of PRP and having the right protocols can be the difference between an amazing result and no result at all. Hawksley Regen Med and The PRP Clinic recently worked together to validate some of the top PRP systems, to see if the stated figures around each brand were true.
Hawksley Regen Med & T-Lab
Hawksley & Sons has been working in medical equipment since 1869, and manufacturing centrifuges for the last 70 years. That means that we've been working in UK healthcare for longer than the NHS. During that time, we have always maintained focus on a smaller number of products, that we have an extensive scientific understanding of and belief in. Around 10 years ago, we started getting a lot of contact about PRP tubes. Our centrifuge customers wanted to know if we could supply them PRP tubes. This wasn't an area that we worked in, but it did prompt us to put together a research team. Together, they looked at the various tubes on the market and the companies that manufactured them, and decided that the ideal partner for us would be T-Lab. This was based on the quality and safety of their products, but also a shared drive for scientific rigour.
T-Lab is a much younger company than Hawksley & Sons, having been founded in 2012. However, since its inception they have spread to 80 countries in over 5 different continents. They boast the widest range of regenerative medicine of any company in the world and have become global specialists in the area.
The initially burst onto the regenerative medicine scene with their world-leading PRP tubes, found to be the most effective on the market in 2025 by an independent panel, and have added kits to their range that work with platelet-derived exosomes, fibroblast micrografting, and stem cells.
By combining both companies' specialisms, T-Lab's industry leading PRP tubes and extensively tested protocols with Hawksley & Sons' unrivalled knowledge of centrifugation, Hawksley Regen Med has emerged as a uniquely positioned company, offering high-quality equipment along with the know how to get the most out of them. Despite being relative newcomers to PRP in the UK, being able to establish relationships with dedicated professionals, also focused on objective testing, such as The PRP Clinic, has helped us to establish credibility in the field.
will.owen@hawksley.co.uk
+447459423747







