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Unexplainable

The real quest for fake blood

Unexplainable

Vox

Life Sciences, Science, Natural Sciences

4.52K Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tens of thousands of lives could be saved each year if hospitals had more blood. So scientists are racing to understand how this living fluid does what it does in order to one day grow it from scratch. Guest: Nicola Twilley, New Yorker contributor and host of Gastropod.  For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! [email protected] We read every email. Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Race the rudder, raise the sails, raise the sales!

0:05.0

Captain, an unidentified ship approaching, over.

0:07.0

Roger that.

0:08.0

Wait, is that an enterprise sales solution?

0:13.0

Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors.

0:17.0

With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title, and more.

0:21.4

To get 100 pounds off your first campaign, go to LinkedIn.com slash lead to claim your credit.

0:26.7

That's LinkedIn.com slash lead. Terms and conditions apply.

0:31.6

It's unexplainable. I'm Noah. I'm Hassanfeld.

0:34.5

And a couple months ago, the most amazing person I'd never heard of died.

0:41.2

His name was James Harrison. He was 88, died in his sleep at a nursing home after a career

0:47.4

working as a clerk for a local railway, just a regular guy that somehow saved the lives

0:54.0

of almost two and a half million people.

0:57.7

I don't know. I still can't really wrap my head around it.

1:01.3

And it was just because his blood was really special.

1:05.2

It had this rare antibody.

1:07.5

And doctors used it to make a medication that saved millions of babies.

1:12.2

But the part of the story I keep coming back to is that James had to keep donating his blood,

1:18.8

almost 1,200 times.

1:21.6

It's not like the doctors drew blood one time, found this special antibody,

1:26.0

and made a cure that they could end up reusing.

1:29.0

James, who was terrified of needles who had to travel an hour each way to the lab,

...

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