Consequently, the vast majority of Theranos’ more than 200 tests were conducted in the traditional way, using blood tubes taken from the hand and standard equipment. Prosecutors allege that the two men knew Theranos could not deliver on its promises-the devices simply did not work-but continued to raise millions of dollars from investors and sell the products to doctors and consumers. Since most tests are done with only the liquid portion of a blood sample, a single drop taken when pricking your finger actually yields half the usable amount of blood. If you are among the 5% who get abnormal results without a doctor’s consultation, you may be stressed and exposing yourself to important medical tests in vain, says Amy Karger, MD, PhD, chair of the College of American Pathologists point-of-care testing committee. 25, 2021 — The promise sounds too good to be true: Walk into your local pharmacy, get a printout of a few blood drops and get tested quickly and inexpensively for hundreds of different diseases. All of these tests can be done with a blood drop, says Kimberly Sanford, president of the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Federal prosecutors charged Holmes and Ramesh Sunny Balwani, president and chief operating officer of Theranos, with nine counts of fraud and two counts of conspiracy. Lawsuits, layoffs, and failed lab tests followed, and two years of tests of Theranos devices were invalidated. In October 2015, the Wall Street Journal published an exposé, based on a whistleblower report from Theranos, claiming that the company’s technology had numerous flaws. Speaking of technology, the idea of going to the pharmacy to get a blood test is fraught with other difficulties. That’s what Theranos, founded by Elizabeth Holmes in Silicon Valley, said. Its goal: to revolutionize health care by making blood tests widely available, simple and cheap. Things escalated further, and in June 2016 Walgreens ended its partnership with Theranos.
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