Milkshakes for Marleigh

Melissa Clode shares how her 8-year-old son Charlie, is not defined by his heart. He has DiGeorge Syndrome which has caused a heart defect, developmental delays and seizures. Through 3 open heart surgeries, over 130 hospital admissions in 8 years, 3 strokes and countless seizures, Australian blood & organ donors have kept Charlie alive. 

The most important part about Charlie's heart is how much he uses it to love life! Whether ...

~This episode is dedicated to Francesca Pastega. We promise to always say her name.~

Ian and Lyndsay Pastega have had to navigate the most extraordinary challenges to create their family. Through alloimmunisation in pregnancy (requiring their babies to have multiple blood transfusions before they were even born), premature birth, neonatal death and pregnancy after loss. 

Lynds, Elda (9) and Charlie (7) share their story of navigati...

Molly Dawson tells her story for all the people who have not survived their cancer journey. 

With the help of Australian blood donors she overcame Hodgkins Lymphoma at the age of 18 and has now dedicated aged her life to volunteer work and advocacy to support others in their cancer journey. 

This episode is full of joy and post traumatic growth alongside an honest reflection of what it's like to live through cancer diagnosis, treat...

Anj Middlestant, better known as This Strong Mum, shares the incredible story of her daughter Missy, who will be forever 13, to thank blood donors and encourage new ones. 

Anj celebrates Missy's life and honours her legacy through the Missy's Donors Lifeblood team and her phenomenal blood donation advocacy work, encouraging others to 'save the lives of people we will never know and faces we will never see.' 

September is Childhood ...

Alba is the baby who humanised war for so many Australians. She is the Australian baby born 11 weeks prematurely, days before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2021, fighting for her life in the middle of a war zone. 

Alba's Mum, Jess details how donors from all over the world needed to donate blood to keep Alba alive. First in Ukraine and then in London. 

This is an episode of two Mums marvelling about overcoming infertility and the immen...

Kate Fisher chats to 91.9 HOT FM about her quest to end persistent critical blood shortages in Australia through her blood donation advocacy work and The Milkshakes for Marleigh Podcast. She explains why her daughter Marleigh will be dependant on blood products for life to treat Autoimmune Encephalitis. 

To learn more: www.milkshakesformarleigh.org

To join The Milkshakes for Marleigh Lifeblood Team and book a donation: https://www....

Kellie Finlayson was just 25 and a first time Mum to a 3 month old baby girl when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. 

Kellie is a model, marathon runner & brand ambassador. Her husband is AFL star Jeremy Finlayson and together they are navigating her battle against Stage 4, colorectal cancer while raising their little girl, Sophia. 

In this episode Kellie courageously and candidly share the reality of parenting alongside f...

Former My Kitchen Rules contestants, Carly and Tresne are on a mission to increase blood donations in Australia. They thank the blood donors who gifted them more time with their precious baby girl, Poppy Grace as she battled childhood Leukaemia. 

Poppy Grace passed away in February 2023, just a few months before her second birthday. Her Mummas are now working with the Children's Cancer Institute to improve precision medicine and tr...

An update on Marleigh's health and rehabilitation progress as she recovers from Autoimmune Encephalitis. 

This is a great episode if you are new to The Milkshakes for Marleigh Podcast and community and would like an overview of Marleigh story and why she will be dependent on Australian blood donors for the rest of her life. 

Please play your part in blood donation advocacy by voting for Milkshakes for Marleigh to win the Making a D...

Jess is a Blood Donor and Exercise Physiologist with a passion for inclusivity for people with visible and invisible disabilities. Elana is a Physiotherapist who has a brother whose life was saved by Australian blood donors and now lives with a disability. 

They have combined their lived experiences and professional experience, working side-by-side in a Rehabilitation Unit in a hospital, to be co-founders and co-CEO's of The Access...

Siobhan is a blood product recipient and picture of post traumatic growth. She is an ex-27 week preemie, born more than 3 months early and recipient of many, many blood products. She joins me today with her mum, Fiona who is also a blood product recipient, having needed a transfusion following a the birth of Siobhan's older sister.

Siobhan has founded Our Pixie Friends and is on a mission to make sick kids feel less alone. She supp...

On 11 June 2023, a bus transferring wedding guests from Lovedale to Singleton, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, overturned leaving 10 passengers dead and another 25 in hospital. 

As the local community and its surrounds come to terms with the unspeakable tragedy, local AFL clubs are rallying to recruit blood donors to ensure there is enough blood to treat the injuries, infections and burns of the survivors and ensure their saf...

Artist, Summer Daniels is the Creative Director and Founder of Little Rae Prints where she adds a little magic to childrens spaces all over the world. She overcame an acute infection as a teenage with the support of a blood transfusion but was left suffering from infertility. 

Summer has overcome illness, infertility and the heart break of pregnancy loss to create her little family. In this episode she shares how "when you are give...

Whether you recognise him as an actor (having played iconic roles as Evan Wilde in The Secret life of Us and as Molly Meldrum), a philanthropist, the unicycling brother of Connie or epic cancer vanquishing advocate, everyone seems to agree that Samuel Johnson is one of Australia's most loved Aussie icons. 

Like Marleigh, Samuel Johnson has a brain injury and has needed blood products. He was hit by a car in 2021, an accident that n...

Mateoh Eggleton is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child,  born into the story of his family, culture, and Country. He carries with him the songlines of his ancestors and culture, passed down by generations. His Dreaming is part of  history, while his future is his own to shape.  In todays episode, we ask for your help to give Mateoh a future. 

Mateoh is just 6 years old and has recieved blood products from hundreds of Aus...

~In memory of baby Alexander Bond ~

Chris Bond is the Captain of The Australian Wheelchair Rugby Team who have freshly been crowned World Champions. He is also a 2 time Paralympic Gold Medalist. 

Chris shares his remarkable story of survival. He's a quadruple amputee from a sepsis infection, has survived the blood cancer Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia through chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant and ...

Cherie Canning is a lifesaver. She donates blood to save the lives of other Australians because Australian blood and breastmilk donors saved the life of her daughter, Chloe. 

Born at 25 weeks, 101 days early and weighing 0.73kg, tiny Chloe was prescribed platelet transfusions and breastmilk to support her survival. At the end of this month Chloe will turn 6. She is singing and dancing her way through life and dreaming of being an a...

Rebecca Ind is a blood donor and a blood product recipient. After recurrent pregnancy loss she used Anti-D Immunoglobulin to help her sustain a pregnancy and create her family. She thanks blood donors for this incredible gift. 

Rebecca is also an incredible blood donor and earlier this year she celebrated her 200th donation. Bec also works for Lifeblood and she joins me to answer the many questions the The Milkshakes for Marleigh t...

Australian Olympic swimming champion Michael Klim will be reliant on Australian blood donors for the rest of his life. 

Michael announced earlier this year that he is suffering from a debilitating neurological autoimmune disorder called Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), for which there is no cure. But symptoms can be managed and quality of life improved by the use of Intravenous Immunoglobulin Infusions (IVI...