My Big Idea (Ep. 3): A Monthly Miracle Packed with Scientific Potential | Karli Büchling

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 ...]