Health Check

A minority of patients requiring blood transfusions are increasingly requesting ‘unvaccinated’ blood in the United States, per a new report published in the journal Transfusion. Our studio guest today, genito-urinary consultant Vanessa Apea, explains how this can lead to potentially dangerous delays and higher risks.
Presenter Claudia Hammond speaks to Dr Angela Wu, from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and Oxford Tobacco Addiction Group at the University of Oxford, about a new overview of the best available evidence worldwide for smoking cessation. The study, published in the journal Addiction, has found that nicotine‑containing e‑cigarettes appear to be more effective for stopping people smoking than other interventions.
We hear how metabolic liver disease could affect nearly 1.8 billion people by 2050, according to new research published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology journal. The growing number of cases means that many people are at risk of developing serious complications, however, the study also found that although more people are developing the disease, the overall impact on health has remained stable due to advances in treatment and care.
We also hear from BBC World Service reporter Sen Nguyen in Vietnam as Hanoi plans to pilot a new low-emission zone from July to tackle air pollution. We hear what the proposed changes are and with the prevalence of diesel motorbikes in the city, how prepared are residents, workers and businesses for this change?
And Claudia and Vanessa discuss whether living with friends may quietly be altering your gut bacteria, following new research published in the journal Molecular Ecology.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Jonathan Blackwell and Hannah Robins

As the Artemis II crew return to Earth, we uncover the health benefits of the feeling of awe with world-renowned expert, Dacher Keltner. We also discuss how we might find more awe in our everyday lives.
What impact is the Iran war having on global health? Journalist Andrew Green unpicks the ramifications of shipping restrictions, ‘black rain’ in Tehran and hacking attacks on medical suppliers.
How two boyhood friends have helped developed a new kind of prosthesis with a programme based in Guadalajara. Our reporter Rogelio Navarro has the story.
Progress on our understanding of Noma, a severe gangrenous disease of the mouth and face. Plus, how some blind people are using echolocation to help them detect objects in their environment.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Hannah Robins and Jonathan Blackwell
(Photo: Nasa astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon, 2 April, 2026. Credit: Nasa/Reuters)

In Australia last year, it was discovered that hardly any sunscreen products actually offered the protection listed on the bottle. Now the Australian regulator has finally proposed sweeping reforms in the country known to be a skin cancer hotspot. Dr Michelle Wong, chemist and science communicator of LabMuffin Beauty Science explains what impact the changes might make.
Northern Cyprus is one of the cheapest places to get IVF treatment. However, a British couple have recently discovered their children, conceived at a clinic in the country, are not biologically related despite the couple requesting the same sperm donor for both children. We find out more about what happened and how IVF clinics are regulated globally.
How mosquitoes could be used to vaccinate bats against rabies and nipah, and the potential benefit to human health.
In Ghana, Pakistan, Rwanda, and South Africa more than half of patients with serious injuries failed to reach medical care within an hour of being injured according to new research. Dr Leila Ghalichi, Senior Researcher at Department of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Birmingham explains what could be done to improve the situation.
And, how sperm behaves in space, and what that means for colonising other planets.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Hannah Robins
Assistant Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

For the last few weeks, the news has been dominated by the situation in the Middle East. Joining Claudia Hammond is BBC Health Correspondent James Gallagher who speaks with Dr Antoine Abou Fayad, a microbiologist and medicinal chemist based in Beirut, Lebanon. He reveals that war, just like the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, provides the perfect storm to accelerate the spread of multidrug-resistant infections. And nobody is safe.
Following the recent meningitis B outbreak in the UK which has killed two people and led to the rollout of vaccines and preventative antibiotics, Claudia and James discuss how meningitis outbreaks are dealt with in the ‘meningitis belt’ - an area stretching across 26 sub-Saharan African countries and talk about a new vaccine aiming to stop deadly meningitis epidemics which has been confirmed to be safe following analysis of vaccination campaigns in Nigeria and Niger.
And India's snakebite crisis is killing near sixty thousand people every year, about six people every hour. Journalist Chhavi Sachdev joins us to discuss the progress of India’s National Action Plan to tackle snakebite envenoming which launched two years ago.
Also, what time of day do you exercise? Well, a new study using Fitbit-derived heart rate data has found that people who regularly exercised early in the morning were significantly less likely to have coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes or obesity compared with people who exercised later in the day.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Jonathan Blackwell

North Korean defectors and lifelong South Korean residents have significantly different cancer rates, despite their genetic similarities; new research finds. Presenter Laura Foster unpacks this study, explaining what it tells us about how upbringing and environment contribute to different cancer rates, and how migration can change these risks.
A new study has found GLP-1s – drugs typically used to treat diabetes and obesity – could have an unexpected benefit for patients dealing with substance abuse disorders. Laura speaks with Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist and Veterans Affairs physician at Washington University in St Louis to understand what this could mean for treating drug and alcohol addictions, and what questions still need answers before this treatment can be rolled out.
Last weekend, Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority rolled out new waste management rules to better dispose of products containing plastic, but the new laws are expected to increase the price of sanitary pads by 20%. Global health reporter based in Nairobi, Dorcas Wangira joins Laura to unpack what these policies mean for the accessibility of sanitary products, and what alternative solutions are needed to balance access with environmental impact. They also discuss how a drug to treat Parkinson’s disease can be made from waste plastic bottles using a pioneering method.
And Jane Chambers reports from Peru about the growing prevalence of anaemia, speaking to local healthcare workers about what steps families can be taken to help their children recover.
Presenter: Laura Foster
Producers: Jonathan Blackwell and Georgia Christie