How a new period pad could mean the end of the smear test

Menstrual blood could be a diagnostic tool for health issues ranging from diabetes to endometriosis

In January next year, Europe’s first menstrual blood bank will open in Manchester.

A large body of research now shows that menstrual blood could be a diagnostic tool for health issues ranging from diabetes to endometriosis – and British company Yoni Health, is hoping that the bank will generate game-changing research. Some predict that menstrual blood tests could also replace the smear test, as a less invasive way to screen for cervical cancer. The bank will also improve products for periods, as companies will have more accurate testing material.

Yoni Health’s founder, Karli Büchling, first started to wonder about the use of period blood for diagnostics when she was ill at university and required regular blood tests. “One week I was on my period and asked the nurse if she could use my menstrual blood rather than blood extracted from my veins but she laughed it off,” recalls Büchling, an entrepreneur and female health advocate.

Years later, she came across research from the US which proved that menstrual blood contains many of the same health markers, if not more, than regular blood – from endometrial tissue with viable cells and immune cells to nucleic acids, proteins, and microorganisms from the vaginal microbiome. In fact, period blood contains over 800 unique proteins and special immune cells that are not found in regular blood.