13 October 2026
Blood clots are behind one in every four deaths globally. And the current treatments — blood thinners — can save lives but can also end careers and change lives forever. In the lead up to World Thrombosis Day on 13 October, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute’s researchers have been working on safer treatments using mRNA and antibodies to prevent dangerous clots without the bleeding risk of current blood thinners.
Like many other athletes, Tom Rockliff's AFL career ended with a blood clot. The former all-Australian player was 31 and after 208 AFL games, still super fit — but Tom’s life was suddenly in danger. Baker Institute scientists want to change that story.
As Professor Andrew Murphy says, “Most people don’t even know they’re at risk of blood clots until it’s too late. Sixty per cent of blood clots occur during or shortly after hospitalisation. You can feel perfectly fine one moment and suddenly develop pain or swelling in one leg the next. If a clot travels to your lungs, heart or brain, these can be deadly within minutes.”
Back in 2021, Tom was flying high for a spoil, landed awkwardly and injured both knees. After surgery to repair torn cartilage, he was lying on the couch for days to recover when his foot swelled up. A scan uncovered “a ten centimetre clot in my leg and a couple of little clots on my lungs as well," Tom said. He was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a clot in a deep vein.
"I was told that if the clots move to your heart you can have a heart attack, and if they move to your brain, you can have a stroke and die," he said.
Tom was prescribed blood thinners and advised he couldn't do any contact training for at least six months because the risk of internal bleeding was too great. Then when he was advised months later that the main clot hadn’t dissolved and could linger for a long time, he chose to retire.
"Family has to come first," said Tom, who was awaiting the birth of his second son. “Knees can be replaced but you only have one heart and one brain.”
Blood clots shouldn’t have to alter your life course
Baker Institute haematologist Associate Professor James McFadyen said Tom's story reflects what he sees every day. "Blood clots can impact anyone including young, fit, otherwise healthy people. Many other elite sportspeople like Serena Williams have had life-threatening blood clots.” Serena had clots in 2010 and seven years later, developed pulmonary embolisms during pregnancy and after childbirth. Women are 4–5 times more likely to develop a blood clot during pregnancy and have a 20 times higher risk of developing a blood clot during the first six weeks after childbirth.
Associate Professor McFadyen says, “Blood clots are impacting a lot of people in younger generations, and it's altering their life course." Blood thinners are the standard treatment, but they come with lifestyle limitations in terms of minimising the risk of physical contact.
"So if someone's a police officer or they want to join the army, it’s a problem. In every career where physical contact is required, it’s a problem. And many sports suddenly become too dangerous because there is a risk of trauma and pulmonary embolism — blood clots blocking an artery in the lungs."
Older patients’ lives are also curtailed by the available medications. “A bunch of people are on blood thinners, particularly those with heart disease," he said.
"Our researchers are developing the next generation of anti-clotting therapies that could one day allow people who require blood thinners to continue living active lives without many of the current limitations,” Associate Professor McFadyen said.
We’re exploring smarter and safer approaches, including mRNA and antibody-based therapies.
Believed to be the first study of its kind, scientists at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute used mRNA to instruct the body to produce its own targeted antibody. The antibody blocks only the platelets involved in harmful clot formation, leaving normal clotting intact.
We’re also developing an antibody-based therapy that could be injected in patients to instantly dissolve life-threatening blood clots.
It would work within minutes as a clot busting treatment without the risks of thinning the blood. New therapies like this could be a game changer for everyone.
