Our Blood Donation Crisis & An Organ Transplant First

August 7, 2026 In today's episode, Dr. Will Flanary (@DrGlaucomflecken) & Eva Johnson cover the American Red Cross declaring its second-ever national blood crisis, with Type O blood critically low and hospitals postponing transfusions. They break down what's driving the shortage and debate whether blood donors deserve HOV-lane perks. Then: a 36-year-old Iowa woman with cystic fibrosis becomes the first known U.S. patient to receive a quadruple organ transplant involving re-transplanted lungs, in addition to a liver and kidney, at Northwestern Medicine. Plus: Florida advises caution on psychiatric medication for children, a promising non-opioid pain drug (LTG-001) reduces opioid use after surgery, and Will reveals whether he actually knows his blood type. Coverage Timeline: (0:00) Intro & Trivia Question (1:00) Red Cross Blood Crisis (3:54) Should We Pay Blood Donors? (4:44) Historic 4-Organ Transplant (8:32) Florida Psych Meds Debate (10:04) Non-Opioid Pain Relief Trial Have a story, think we missed something, want to say hi, or curious to learn about the Medlines team? Visit www.medlinespod.com or email medlines@human-content.com. Sources & Media Attributions for Today's Episode Available At: www.medlinespod.com/sources Medlines is a Human Content Production