Bloodworks 101

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Recently, Bloodworks Northwest awarded a free trip to one lucky donor. The destination? Tokyo. It was called "Donate and Win," all part of our "Music's in Our Blood" campaign. Producer John Yeager got a chance to speak with the winner who couldn't have picked a more fitting destination. It's a place she&...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message How is hip hop like blood donation? As Jace Ecaj (The Residency, Black Stax) and Giselle Lehmann (Bloodworks) explain, Where the Heart Lives , our high school and college education program, brings the two together in a meaningful and memorable way.  Learn more: https://wheretheheartlives.org/ Support the show

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message On December 15, 2025, Bloodworks' Renton facilities received a GO NOW evacuation order after a Green River levee failed and sent floodwaters into neighborhoods around Tukwila, Renton, and Kent. For Bloodworks' VP of Laboratory Operations Mike Charapata, the situation felt eerily familiar. Support the show

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message If you listen to radio in the Pacific Northwest, there's a good chance you know the name John Richards. He's the Morning Show Host & Producer at Seattle's KEXP. Well, he's also a Bloodworks Northwest blood donor. And as Bloodworks 101 Producer John Yeager found out, there's a good reason why. It has to do with...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Lynn and John Tissell met at church — but that's just how it started. They fell in love through blood donation. As Bloodworks 101 co-producer Helen Pitlick shares, theirs is a story that will make the hearts of even the grinchiest Bloodworks 101 listeners grow three sizes.  Support the show

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Each year, Bloodworks Northwest sets aside December 18th as Washington State Blood Donor Day. It's a day that comemorates the Amtrak 501 derailment near DuPont on Decemeber 18th, 2017. But it also shines a light on the need to be ready BEFORE disasters like that occur. The derailment killed three and injured dozens and crippled trans...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message For years, it's been a given that there's no such thing as artificial blood. Well not anymore. Thanks to researchers like Dr. Allan Doctor and his team at the University of Maryland, the prospect of articial blood could be years away instead of decades. And when you consider that only 3 out of 100 people actually donate blood, y...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message For fans of the hit HBO show Our Flag Means Death, the Gravy Basket is a place between life and death. After a trip to New York for an Our Flag Means Death convention, the Gravy Basket became real for Seattle resident Missa Marmalstein, made all the more surreal by the show's finale that very night. Bloodworks 101 co-producer Helen P...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Happy Thanksgiving! We have a favorite episode to share in honor of this day of gratitude — and Bloodworks 101 winning two 2025 Anthem Awards. When the Tualatin City Council met during National Blood Donor Month, an official proclamation was read, honoring Bloodworks Northwest. But little did those attending the meeting know, this officia...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Bloodworks Northwest is right in the middle of our latest awareness campaign called, "Music's in Our Blood." It's our effort to reach out to music communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. One of the more enthusiastic partners we have is Portland's Ben Dudley, from the nonprofit, "Free Guitars for Kids.&q...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Tuesday, November 11th is Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor those men and women who have served their country. One of those veterans is Bloodworks Northwest President & CEO Curt Bailey. Curt is a former U.S. Marine Corps chopper pilot. For Bailey, Veterans Day is a day to look back on how his military service shaped him into the...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Did you know that people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, on or off medication, can donate blood if their diabetes is under control and they meet the other eligibility criteria? Madi Johnson didn't know this until she started working for Bloodworks, and she's lived with diabetes since she was 12. Now, it's her job to help pe...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Seattle's Mark Klebeck is the co-founder of Top Pot Doughnuts, one of our partners in the Music's in Our Blood Awareness campaign. There's a good reason for that as Bloodworks 101 producer John Yeager discovered. Here's John's conversation with Klebeck, including proof that music really is in his blood.    Support...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message If you only had six months to live, what's the first thing you'd do? What would be most important? Tough questions aren't they. But a local woman named Josie Rosler and her family had to answer them when they got some devastating news a few years ago. Josie shared her story with Bloodworks 101 producer John Yeager. What fol...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message If you're a platelet donor with Bloodworks Northwest, we can't thank you enough. But as you sit there and make your lifesaving donation, have you ever thought of the machine at your side, just clicking along, separating the lifesaving components in your blood? Well, Lori Harada and Carly Newton from Terumo, the maker of the mach...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Ohio's Al Whitney is 88 years old and in the blood banking industry, he's become a bit of a legend. Why? Well, as Bloodworks 101 producer John Yeager found out, that's because Al Whitney is a man on a mission to save lives.   Support the show

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Bloodworks is in the middle of our fifth annual Music’s In Our Blood campaign, seeking 10,000 new and returning donors by the end of the year. And celebrating a few of our regular donors! Sam Sitzman has been donating blood since he turned 16 — and playing the cello since he was three. What do blood donation and playing the cello have in...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message If you're a regular Bloodworks Northwest donor, you probably get calls from our staff at the Contact Center. Ever wonder who's on the other end of the line? Well, Bloodworks 101 producer John Yeager did. And wait till you hear some of the stories the woman in charge of the Center has to tell.  Support the show

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message While platelets were the focus of Dr. Sherrill Slichter's research at Bloodworks, patients were always at the heart. Dr. Theresa Nester and Dr. Moritz Stolla discuss about the clinical implications of her work. Support the show

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message Dr. Sherrill Slichter joined Bloodworks in 1970, and over four and a half decades, her platelet research changed the face of transfusion medicine around the world. In this episode of Bloodworks 101 , her colleagues Dr. Theresa Nester, Dr. Moritz Stolla, and Gayle Teramura reflect on Dr. Slichter's research and legacy. Support the sho...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message The "We Give Blood Drive" is the brainchild of Abbott Laboratories, an American multinational medical devices and health care company and the Big Ten conference to promote blood donation by students, alumni, and fans of Big Ten schools. The campaign is now underway with Big Ten schools vying for a $1 million grant to advance stu...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message At Bloodworks, we like to say that platelets are "golden." Why? well, as producer John Yeager tells us in the special ENCORE EDITION of Bloodworks 101, it's because they have such an impact on the people who receive them. But it's also because of the time and sacrifice it takes to produce them. For this edition, John s...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message As a fitness buff, Randy Cantrell knew he wanted to do something big to celebrate turning 70. And as a lifelong blood donor, he also wanted raise money for Bloodworks. Bloodworks 101 co-producer Helen Pitlick joined Randy for a walk around Green Lake in Seattle as part of his epic birthday fundraiser. Got a creative idea for a fundraiser?...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message As a tech-savvy marketer, blood donor Mike Burlin likes to automate his donations as much as possible. Which hasn’t always been the case: after his dad was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), blood and stem cell donation were often on Mike’s mind. Here's a special ENCORE EDITION of Bloodworks 101, hoted by Helen Pitlic...

Got a story idea for Bloodworks 101? Send us a text message For many high schoolers, donating blood is a rite of passage, something cool you can do when you turn 16. For Grayson Goodman, it's more like a calling: blood donation means a lot to the Goodman family. After all, donated blood gave Grayson's dad, Hunter, more years with his family. Here's a special ENCORE EDITION of Bloodw...