When it comes to physical exams, some might wonder: why do we need to draw two or three vials of blood? Isn’t one enough?
The reason is that blood tests analyze dozens of different components—such as various blood cell counts or concentrations of specific proteins that serve as health indicators. To detect these diverse elements, samples must undergo different pre-treatments before being sent to specialized instruments.
But what if a company claimed to have developed a device that could run hundreds of tests using just a single drop of blood? What would your first reaction be?
For modern people who believe in the boundless possibilities of technological innovation, this hardly sounds like a fairy tale. In fact, one company claimed to have achieved exactly that. This is the story of Theranos and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes.
Theranos was ultimately exposed as an unmitigated fraud, and Holmes could not escape her fate behind bars. But how did she manage to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes for so many years—deceiving employees, investors, regulators, and finally, consumers? In my view, the primary reason was “self-deception”. Holmes fell for her own lie. As noted in A Philosophy of Lying, quoting Nietzsche:
All great deceivers owe their power to a remarkable trait: in the actual act of deception, amidst all the preparations—the seductive voice, the calculated expressions and gestures—the true pivot is that the deceiver ‘believes in themselves’. It is this conviction that allows them to speak with such eloquence that everyone around them is swept into belief.
As a professional in the medical device industry, another fascinating aspect of this book is how Theranos bypassed the FDA—the world’s most stringent medical regulatory body. Simply put, Theranos wasn’t selling medical hardware subject to FDA clearance; instead, they offered “Laboratory Developed Tests”, a service historically less constrained by federal regulations. This case vividly illustrates why the FDA has been so determined in recent years to reform and tighten the oversight of clinical laboratory testing.
As time passes, Theranos has faded like drifting smoke. Yet today, we see the emergence of a novel (and compliant) medical model in the U.S.: consumers can collect blood samples at home using micro-collection tubes and mail them to accredited labs. Medical experts then provide online consultations and prescriptions based on the results, and medications are delivered directly to the doorstep. Perhaps one day, the vision of “testing with a single drop” will finally be realized. Under the banner of true scientific innovation, “impossible is nothing”.
