Kate Fisher, Founder of Milkshakes for Marleigh, has been announced as the winner of Podcast of the Year, Author of the Year and Woman Changing the World of the Year at the 15th AusMumpreneur Awards ceremony held in Melbourne last 14 August.
Presented by The Women’s Business School, the AusMumpreneur Awards celebrates and recognises women in business who have achieved notable success in areas such as business excellence, product development, customer service and digital innovation.
A native of Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Fisher seeks a broader platform for her mission to end critical blood shortages in Australia and across the globe. As part of this mission, she has hosted the “Milkshakes for Marleigh” podcast since 2021 and has written a book, “Milkshakes for Marleigh: Extraordinary Tales of survival thanks to Australian blood donors”, which was published in June.
“Winning Podcast and Author of the Year for Milkshakes for Marleigh is a recognition from my industry peers that I have written the best book and created the best podcast of 2024,” she said. “However, winning the Woman Changing the World Award recognizes the impact of my blood donation advocacy on a global scale and I know that is recruiting the blood donors who are saving lives every single day, all over the world.”
Fisher’s advocacy began when her daughter Marleigh was diagnosed with Autoimmune Encephalitis, a life-threatening condition where her immune system attacks her brain, causing debilitating symptoms and seizures that can last for days. While there is no cure for Marleigh’s condition, treatment is possible with Immunoglobulin treatment made from donated human blood plasma, which has given Marleigh “five bonus years”.
“Blood donors don’t just keep people alive, they keep families together. People just don’t realise that one in three Australians need blood in their lifetime and when Marleigh is at her sickest, we can only prolong her life for 10 days at a time with plasma infusion. If not enough people donate between her infusions, her life is in danger,” Fisher further said.
This is the second big win for Fisher this year after having won in London last May the Women Changing the World Global Impact: Non-Profit Award in London last May. The award recognised Fisher’s efforts to encourage blood donations. In addition, she is also in the middle of discussions related to the future of her podcast with executives from Sirius XM in the US, who appreciate her podcast’s lifesaving impact unlike any other podcast in the world.
Amidst these honours, Fisher says what is more important to her is her daughter’s life. “I am deeply honoured to win these awards but the irony is that no amount of gold trophies can save Marleigh’s life. I need Aussies to keep donating the liquid gold (plasma) so that Marleigh can have more bonus years with us,” she shared.
