I am obsessed with how
the human body works.
Everything in the world is a process,
and a process has inputs.
It does a bunch of functions.
And then it has output.
But there's disparity in knowledge
between the male
and the female physiology.
I am on a mission to make researching
the female physiology more accessible.
The crazy thing is,
the solution has been
staring us in the face
this whole time.
Host: Please put your hands together
for Karli Büchling.
(Applause)
Chris Anderson: Hello,
I'm Chris Anderson, head of TED.
We believe that ideas change everything.
And that anyone in the world,
including you,
can have an amazing idea.
Which is why we've embarked on a search
to uncover the best ideas
you've never heard of.
Now an idea by itself
won’t achieve anything.
But what if it was presented on a stage,
and, secretly, in the audience,
there were experts
and mentors and investors?
Then all bets are off.
From TED, this is My Big Idea.
[My Big Idea]
KB: Hi, I’m Karli Büchling,
and this is my big idea.
[The Cotswolds, UK]
I grew up on a farm,
and I have always been interested
in understanding how things work,
whether it's a machine,
whether it's the soil growing something.
I wanted to be a doctor
when I was a child,
but I fainted at the sight of blood.
Even thinking about it
and talking about it now
makes me feel a little lightheaded.
But the fascination
with the human physiology
has always stayed with me.
When I was at university,
I got very, very ill.
I had chronic pain, chronic fatigue,
and the doctors couldn't
figure out what was wrong.
So I had to go for blood test
after blood test,
month after month.
I was tired of having to go
for tests constantly,
and I thought, surely,
there is a better way of doing this?
That idea of, things can be easier,
things can be better,
stayed with me.
I want to do a TED Talk on my idea
because I want to break down the stigma
and the taboo surrounding women's health.
And I want to educate people
on the incredible opportunity
and how they could be part of that.
I have seen loads of my friends being
really ill and not having answers,
don’t have cause, don’t have
treatment for their conditions.
And I have a daughter as well,
so I want to create better health care
for her in the future.
(Video) Man: As we go along,
let us study the male anatomy.
The penis, the scrotum.
KB: Women have been excluded
from medical research
and clinical trials for over 450 years.
So for 450 years,
scientists have assumed
that women are just smaller men,
but with breasts.
Only since 1993,
women were allowed
to participate in clinical trials.
But this means that women have only
just over 30 years of research
on their physiology.
And even in those 30 years,
we've come to learn that the way
in which our hearts perform are different,
the way in which our brains
perform are different,
the way in which our bladders react
to treatment are different
to that of the male physiology.
Prof. Erin Greaves: Women's health
has been historically underfunded,
and there's a huge unmet need
for more research to be done in the field.
KB: There is over 15,000
studies conducted on sperm alone
and less than 400 on menstrual blood.
EG: Endometriosis impacts
about one in 10 women,
so it's as common as diabetes or asthma.
There's actually only 20 new
potential treatments in clinical trials
for endometriosis,
compared to about 580
that are currently
in clinical trials for diabetes.
KB: 1.6 billion people live
with gynecological conditions
for which there is no cause,
diagnosis or treatment available.
EG: Although women live longer than men,
they spend larger proportions
of their life in ill health and disability
because of this lack of focus
on conditions that only impact women
and their underrepresentation
in really important clinical trials.
KB: The problem is that clinical trials
and research studies are designed
to deliberately exclude
the female physiology.
It was a recent study that showed
that it would take 136 years
to close the gender health gap.
But if we don't find a way to innovate
the way in which clinical trials
are designed and executed
so that [they] can include more women,
then it will take us much, much longer.
We're sending rockets to space,
we've put a man on the Moon,
that is science that's moved quick.
So why can't we do the same
for women's health?
My idea is so obvious,
but it is bold,
it is innovative,
and it is extremely accessible.
The short timeline leading up to this huge
TED idea event was very pressuring.
There was a lot of things
that had to happen in that time.
I had to write my script,
I had to practice it,
I had to work with
the TED team on feedback.
It was really hard to manage that
alongside family and work life.
This is literally how a mom
prepares her TED Talk.
(Child crying)
Child: Hello.
(Laughs)
KB: I have just been so ill.
(Coughs)
I just feel like nothing will go
into my head anymore.
Public speaking is not
the easiest thing to do.
I can get quite nervous.
I'm excited leading up to it
and preparing for it.
But that moment
before you step on the stage,
it can be quite daunting.
My fear is that people will not realize
the benefit and the impact
that this idea could have on health care.
[Two weeks later]
[Brighton]
Today, I feel very excited
to tell the world about this idea
and get that feedback
on a much bigger scale.
It's TED day.
We are here.
Look at this stage.
Amazing, thank you.
I want this idea to resonate with people
and bring them along on this journey
to make this a reality
and change the future of health care
for generations to come.
Outfit of the day,
ready to rock and roll.
You can't do it alone.
You need collaborators,
you need partnerships.
And we need women to really stand up
and step up and say: “We want change.”
Just in the same way
that women have done this
when they wanted to vote.
Host: Please put your hands together
for Karli Büchling.
(Applause)
KB: Today I'm here
to talk about, well, blood.
Specifically,
the kind that 15 million people
in the UK are quietly disposing of
every single month.
Now, picture this:
22-year-old me
in yet another doctor’s office,
arm outstretched like a blood donor VIP.
The fluorescent lights buzzing overhead,
that awful antiseptic smell in the air.
But today was different.
I was on my period.
And as I watched the nurse
prep yet another needle,
I had what I thought was a brilliant idea.
"Hey," I said, trying to sound casual,
"Since I'm already bleeding,
can't I just, like, give you
my menstrual blood instead?"
"That is disgusting," she said,
not even trying to hide her revulsion.
In fact, her response
wasn't only dismissive,
it painted a perfect picture
of how society views
this completely natural process.
I am about to make you
as excited about periods as I am.
In fact, I'm going to prove to you
that there's nothing to be afraid of.
I’m going to throw this tampon
into the audience,
and you [will] see
nothing bad would happen.
(Cheers and applause)
Menstrual blood contains over 800
unique proteins and stem cells.
800.
That's not waste.
That is a biological treasure chest
bursting with scientific potential.
And this is why my bold idea
is a menstrual blood biobank
with a specially developed
technology that will enable women
to collect their menstrual blood
and partake in groundbreaking research
from the comfort of their own home,
while collaborating
with businesses and researchers
to build the most extensive
database in female biometrics,
biomarkers and stem cells.
Picture finding uterine cancer
before it becomes part of the terrifying
70-percent survival statistic.
Or PCOS, before
it causes fertility issues,
or being able to predict
menopause symptoms
before they even start.
We can put our monthly inconvenience
and turn it into monthly insight.
Brutal menstrual cramps,
being told over and over
that that's normal
and the continuous doctor appointments
is pinpointed to endometriosis
within weeks of providing
a menstrual blood sample.
And your stem cells [are] helping a boy
of seven years diagnosed with leukemia,
giving him a second chance at life.
To that nurse who told me
my idea was disgusting,
thank you for the motivation.
(Laughter)
And to all of us who menstruate,
your body is not broken.
Your cycle is not a curse.
It's a monthly miracle
packed with scientific potential
that will revolutionize healthcare
for generations to come.
Thank you.
(Applause and cheers)
Humble and honored.
That's it, like, that's how I feel.
I still can't believe it.
I will do women's health proud.
(Applause)
CA: So this whole evening
has been something.
And we're now entering the phase
of who the hell knows what happens next.
This is not scripted, not rehearsed.
But I'd like to invite Karli,
would you come back
onto the stage, please?
(Cheers)
Turns out, there's a doctor
in the audience.
Dr. Sophie Owen.
Sophie, would you come up on stage?
(Applause and cheers)
Sophie Owen: I'm the global health lead
at Global Access Diagnostics.
We are very keen to develop a test
for endometriosis using menstrual blood.
As you said, it's a fantastic resource.
A menstrual blood biobank
would facilitate this innovation.
So we would be delighted to work with you.
(Cheers and applause)
KB: I was hugely surprised.
I mean, I had no idea.
Amazing.
I mean, to have someone
like that in the audience
and then come on stage and offer --
it just validates to me
that this is an idea
that will truly revolutionize
women's healthcare.
And that's more than I ever expected
to get from this event.
Being able to have such
a involved partner on board
will accelerate this,
and we’ll see [the]
diagnostics much sooner
than any of us ever hoped.
[Four weeks later]
[The Cotswolds]
So it’s been a month since my TED Talk,
and very exciting things happened.
This week I've been to meet with the team
at Global Access Diagnostics
in Bedfordshire,
a leading developer of lateral flow
technologies and products.
Our missions align.
They have a lot of connections
into the funding space,
so I've won a grant to develop the brand
and design the collection kit.
We've also talked about our partnership
and are collaborating
in order to accelerate
research in menstrual blood
so that we can create diagnostic test
using menstrual blood.
And they are very, very keen to support
with setting up the biobank
and seeing my idea come to life.
So that's really, really exciting.
I think that this idea
will truly be revolutionary,
and that we will hopefully,
by the end of this year,
have a fully fledged
biobank open and running
and doing this very important
research in women's health.
[As well as her partnership with GADx,]
[Karli is working alongside
the University of Warwick]
[to facilitate Europe's first
menstrual blood bank.]
[Karli hopes this will enable
ground-breaking research]
[so she never needs
a blood test again ...]