Was Theranos Using Its Own Product at All?

Tyler Shultz learned on his first day at Theranos, before he even saw the product, that the company was not using the product at all. The product had just launched, and zero tests had been validated on the Theranos platform. The red flags were already there on day one.

Patients who went into Walgreens did not get a finger prick. They got a needle in the arm. None of the tests ran on Theranos equipment. The blood took separate paths. Theranos would contract with other labs and send the blood out to UCSF. Or Theranos would test the blood on third party equipment from within Theranos. Or Theranos would dilute the blood and run the diluted sample on third party equipment.

The Walgreens launch was the illusion of a product. Theranos was not using the Theranos device at all, so the device played no part in the tests patients received.