In Pictures: Meet the bloodletter from the heart of Old Delhi

79-year-old Mohammed Gyas was trained as a phlebotomist by his grandfather and passed on his skills to his son, who took over bloodletting practices in 2008. (Credit: Louis Dowse)

The ancient practice of bloodletting – the withdrawal of small quantities of blood from a patient to cure illness and disease – is more than 2,000 years old. (Credit: Louis Dowse)

This man, from Udaipur in western India, travelled more than 11 hours to have his feet sliced open with a razor blade to let his “bad blood bleed out”. (Credit: Louis Dowse)

Dozens of Indians line up to have a tourniquet tied around their left leg and right arm to tighten the nerves before Mohammed Gyas's son makes several small incisions in people’s feet or hands, depending on their illness. (Credit: Louis Dowse)

Up to 250 patients visit Mr Gyas everyday. A typical treatment is between 15 and 30 days. (Credit: Louis Dowse)

One of several assistants pours water over people’s wounds to flush out the blood. (Credit: Louis Dowse)

A doctor is on hand to administer tetanus injections to newcomers for $1, while everyone who is cut was given a mild course of antibiotics to help prevent infection. (Credit: Louis Dowse)