Bloodworks 101
Started in 2020, Bloodworks 101 is an Anthem Award-winning, weekly podcast produced by Bloodworks Northwest, a Seattle-based blood bank and research center. Episodes are designed to inspire and educate listeners to donate time, money or blood.
On Bloodworks 101 you'll meet experts who can discuss everything from the importance of blood donation to trypanophobia (fear of needles).
Emmy Award-winning producer John Yeager, is joined by a team of gifted storytellers Bill Harper, Helen Pitlick and Juan Cotto.
In 2024, Bloodworks 101 won its fourth coveted Anthem Award, beating out more than 2,000 entries from 43 nations.
Bloodworks 101
"Two Babies Saved My Life": Alexes Harris - (S5 E23)
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In 2016, University of Washington sociology professor and mother of two Alexes Harris was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a type of cancer where the blood-producing cells in a patient’s bone marrow became abnormal and create blood cells that don’t function properly. Alexes underwent chemotherapy treatment to reach remission, but when it came time to find a suitable bone marrow donor, her improving condition met a health equity wall: Her mixed race background meant the chances of finding a donor were slim at best.
After learning that all her family members – including her fraternal twin brother – were ineligible to be her donor, Alexes and her husband drove to an appointment with her transplant doctor at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (now Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center). They thought they’d be signing a consent form for a mixed-match transplant. But instead, they met Dr. Filippo Milano, whose clinical trial with cord blood transplants offered another option, one that would make the happiest moment of two families’ lives the best moment of hers too.
