Celebrating International Women’s Day 2024.

Today is International Women’s Day, a day taken annually to celebrate women and promote equality. This year’s theme, Inspire Inclusion, aims to emphasize the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society, including health.

At Randox Health, we are dedicated to empowering women to take control of their health. We aim to achieve this by providing comprehensive health testing and unrivalled health data, arming you with the information you need to make the best decisions for your well-being.

To Inspire Inclusion, we’d like to share the story of one woman who, against all odds, overcame the adversity all too common in the late 19^th Century to become the first qualified female doctor.

Elizabeth Blackwell was born to make a difference. Her dad, Samuel, was a Quaker who fought against slavery. She grew up with siblings like Henry, an advocate for abolition and women’s rights; her sister, Emily, who also became a doctor; and her sister-in-law, Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first woman to be a minister in a mainstream Protestant church.

Elizabeth’s path to medicine began after a friend shared how uncomfortable she felt being treated by male doctors and wished for a female doctor instead. Even though many medical schools rejected her, she finally got accepted to Geneva College, New York, but it turned out they let her in as a joke.

Elizabeth didn’t let that stop her. She worked hard and graduated at the top of her class in 1849, becoming the first woman to earn a medical degree. She then worked in London and Paris, where she was a pioneering advocate for hygiene in medical practice. She criticized the common neglect among male doctors of not washing their hands, which she identified as a cause of epidemic spread.

In 1851, Elizabeth went back to New York, where discrimination was still rife. Her relentless determination resulted in the foundation of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children in 1857, alongside Dr Emily Blackwell and Dr Marie Zakrzewska. This institution became a sanctuary for women seeking medical care, particularly those unable to afford it, and offered employment opportunities for female physicians facing barriers in the medical profession.

Elizabeth also played a pivotal role in the formation of the National Health Society in 1871. This society, whose motto was ‘Prevention is better than Cure,’ aimed at promoting public health awareness and served as an early framework for what would later evolve into the National Health Service.

We believe the key to better health, is more information. The more knowledge you have, the more equipped you are to make the right decisions for your health.

That’s why, this International Women’s Day, we’re offering 20% off all our female health checks until 10^th March 2024 when you use the code IWD20. Let’s take a quick look at a few of the tests we offer.

We offer a range of other tests including Fertility Health, Thyroid Health, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Anti-Müllerian Hormone Testing. You can view our entire range of female health tests here.

So, what are you waiting for? The code IWD20 for 20% off our female health tests is only valid until 10^th March. As the quote we used at the start of this article says, you are only as strong as your health. Use international women’s day as an opportunity to empower yourself with the information you need to make the most of everyday.

If you’d like any more information about our tests, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can message us at any of our social media accounts or here.