The life-saving act nobody sees | Kate Fisher | TEDxBrisbane

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What would you say if you were given 10 minutes to say goodbye to your child? Kate Fisher knows the answer. A rare autoimmune condition left her daughter critically ill, and the treatment keeping her alive depends entirely on blood and plasma donated by strangers. When supplies ran low, treatment was delayed — with devastating consequences. Drawing on both lived experience and her work as a health sociologist, Kate explores a surprising contradiction: while blood donation saves millions of lives, it remains one of the least visible acts of care in modern society. Through her global advocacy initiative, Milkshakes for Marleigh, she has worked to make the impact of blood donation visible by connecting donors, recipients and communities through storytelling. Kate examines the consequences of life-saving acts being invisible — and why understanding this may be critical to the future of blood donation. Kate Fisher is a health sociologist and global blood donation advocate whose work explores altruism, health systems and the unseen networks that sustain life. She is the founder of Milkshakes for Marleigh, a movement addressing critical blood shortages by amplifying the voices of blood recipients, and making visible the impact of anonymous donors. Kate’s work is grounded in lived experience, shaped by her daughter’s survival following repeated life-saving blood-derived treatments. Through research, storytelling and advocacy, she examines how generosity operates within modern healthcare systems — and what happens when it is taken for granted. By making gratitude visible and stories shareable, Kate’s work invites a deeper understanding of the quiet acts of humanity that keep families together, often without recognition or reward. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx