Kate Fisher Launches National Book Tour During Blood Donor Week: A Personal Mission to End Australia’s Blood Shortage Crisis
Queensland, Australia, 5th June 2025 – One in three Australians will need blood in their lifetime — yet only one in thirty donate, leading to frequent national shortages.For Fisher, this crisis isn’t theoretical — it’s her family’s reality.
Kate Fisher, Australia’s leading blood donation advocate and recently named Woman of the Year 2025, will embark on a national book tour this June for her bestselling memoir Milkshakes for Marleigh: Extraordinary Tales of Survival Thanks to Australian Blood Donors, coinciding with National Blood Donor Week, held from 9-15 June 2025.
Fisher is the founder of the national blood donation movement Milkshakes for Marleigh. Her mission is as urgent as it is personal: to end persistent critical blood shortages in Australia and around the world.
Her advocacy began with her daughter Marleigh, who was just three years old when she suddenly became critically ill. Diagnosed with Seronegative Paediatric Autoimmune Encephalitis — a rare and incurable disease — Marleigh’s survival depends on regular plasma infusions made possible by generous Australian blood donors.
At her sickest, Marleigh requires infusions every 10 days. These treatments are not only life-saving during relapses but life-preserving between episodes, allowing her to grow, learn, and live as close to a normal childhood as possible.
“Thousands and thousands of blood and plasma donors have kept my daughter alive,” says Fisher. “Every single donation is another day with Marleigh.”
If you’ve ever donated blood, you may be responsible for one of these extraordinary tales of survival.
Based on interviews conducted for the groundbreaking and internationally award-winning Milkshakes for Marleigh podcast, the book shares extraordinary accounts of survival — made possible by blood donors. From seeing children grow up to winning world championships, falling in love, advocating for others, pursuing scientific breakthroughs, or simply enjoying a few more hours with loved ones — each story is a powerful reminder of the impact one donation can have.
“This book will make you proud to be Australian — and ask which ‘one in three’ of your loved ones might rely on the kindness of a stranger,” says Fisher.
In the past year, Kate Fisher has received:
• Women of The Year 2025, Heart of Woman Awards (Gold Coast)
• Gold – Global Impact Non-Profit, Women Changing the World Awards (London)
Gold – Author, Podcast & Woman Changing the World, 2024 AusMumpreneur Awards (Melbourne)
