By Keri Stafford/The Mother List
Thanks to the work of Stanford University dropout Elizabeth Holmes, you will soon be able to get the lab tests you need with as little as a few drops of blood. This less-invasive approach – which takes a blood sample from just a few drops, or 1/1, 000 the size of a typical blood draw – is particularly appealing for kids afraid of needles or for those who need frequent blood draws.
In 2003, 19-year-old Holmes dropped out of Stanford’s School of Engineering and used her tuition money to start her own company – Theranos — which invented a way for blood tests to be more accurate, less painful, and less expensive. With only a few drops of blood, they can run hundreds of lab tests, from routine blood work to advanced genetic analysis. Then you and your doctor receive the results within hours.
For the past 10 years, her company worked relentlessly toward the goal of offering this service within 5 miles of every home. Theranos Wellness Centers has partnered with Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain — with locations already in Palo Alto, CA and Phoenix, AZ. More locations will be opening soon.
Ms. Homes was inspired to start this company because she wanted to spend her life changing our health care system. She recently told Wired.com, “When someone you love gets really sick, most of the time when you find out, it’s too late to be able to do something about it, and you’re helpless.” She hopes to change that.
We can think of a million reasons why this is awesome. Thank you Ms. Holmes, we need more people in the world like you.
To see the full story by Caitlin Roper go to Wired.com.
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