Is the Gift Still Good? Examining the Politics and Regulation of Blood Safety in the European Union

Farrell, Anne-Maree

doi:10.1093/medlaw/fwl001

Cited by 20 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…The political sensitivity of relying on paid plasma donors to supply health-care requirements in the EU is such that it is difficult to confirm up to date figures for the plasma economy. However, data from the 1990s point to over 50 per cent of the EU market being sourced from plasma collected in the United States (Farrell, 2006). …”

Section: Governing the Blood Supply In Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Revaluing donor and recipient bodies in the globalised blood economy: Transitions in public policy on blood safety in the United Kingdom

2013

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The clinical use of blood has a long history, but its apparent stability belies the complexity of contemporary practices in this field. In this article, we explore how the production, supply and deployment of blood products are socially mediated, drawing on theoretical perspectives from recent work on ‘tissue economies’. We highlight the ways in which safety threats in the form of infections that might be transmitted through blood and plasma impact on this tissue economy and how these have led to a revaluation of donor bodies and restructuring of blood economies. Specifically, we consider these themes in relation to the management of recent threats to blood safety in the United Kingdom. We show that the tension between securing the supply of blood and its products and ensuring its safety may give rise to ethical concerns and reshape relations between donor and recipient bodies.

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Section: Governing the Blood Supply In Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Revaluing donor and recipient bodies in the globalised blood economy: Transitions in public policy on blood safety in the United Kingdom

2013

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“…On the other hand, current EU regulations on blood safety accept as given the fact that most European countries favour a system of unpaid donors. The lessons from the AIDS disaster have, as Farrell (2006) argues, not been sufficiently drawn. The dilemma, evident in the Swedish health authorities’ initial reactions, still holds between a risk of insufficient supply of blood as opposed to a risk of infection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The making of a risk object: AIDS, gay citizenship and the meaning of blood donation in Sweden in the early 1980s

Berner

2011

Sociology Health & Illness

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In the early 1980s acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) presented a danger to the blood supply, the extent of which was difficult to ascertain before a reliable test became available in 1985. In a situation of uncertainty, the major Swedish gay organisation in early 1983 recommended voluntary exclusion from blood donation by their members, while internationally gay organisations protested and Swedish medical authorities hesitated about the appropriate action to take. At stake were definitions of gay citizenship, risk and the gift of blood. The article uses three sociological approaches to understand the controversies around blood from men-who-have-sex-with-men as a risk to public health. An institutional approach is used to situate the symbolic meaning of blood donation within the specific Swedish blood collection regime, and thus the possible stigma of exclusion from donation practices. The article then details the evolution of different risk objects, based on different actors' situated knowledge of the danger, and discusses the different framing conditions influencing decision-making by the various actors involved. The analysis uses extensive archival and secondary material to trace decisions taken in the gay movement, medical authorities and blood centres, and to assess their outcome on the spread of AIDS via the blood supply.

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“…36 In any case, it is suggested that there is a need to be responsive to consumer demand and choice in allowing such products to circulate in the EU blood market, given national shortages in the area. Although this debate has been described as an inadequate frame of reference for taking account of the now complex inter-relationship between ethical, socio-cultural and economic issues affecting blood quality and safety, 37 the fraught negotiations over the Blood Directive made it clear that this debate nevertheless has the potential to generate significant political conflict in circumstances where public support remains strong for the retention of the gift relationship in blood donation. 38 In the circumstances, EU decision-makers were forced to find a way forward which would accommodate the opposing sides in this debate, as well as achieve an acceptable political compromise that would allow for the adoption of the Directive.…”

Section: Eu Governance Of Human Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was designed to ensure that standard-setting in relation to technical requirements set out in the Blood Directive also applied to the collection and testing of the human blood and human plasma used in such products. 48 Risk governance in relation to such products at an institutional level takes place under the auspices of the European Medicines Agency. Risk assessment and evaluation of such products is largely overseen by scientific experts in this technocratic environment, far removed from the political sphere in which the Blood Directive was adopted and its implementation continues to be monitored.…”

Section: Eu Governance Of Human Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Politics of Risk and EU Governance of Human Material

Farrell¹

2009

Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law

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This paper examines the politics of EU risk governance in relation to human material. It is argued that the political context has informed the way in which risks in relation to various types of human material have come to be defined as policy problems at EU level. In turn, this has influenced the design and/or persistence of institutional arrangements to manage such problems. It is further argued that this political context has resulted in a significant level of disconnection in risk governance in the area. This has happened in two ways. First, there has been a growing level of disconnection between institutional and stakeholder demands for a more expansive approach to risk governance in the area and the narrowly-circumscribed competence under Article 152(4)(a) EC, which permits the adoption of risk regulation regimes that set minimum standards of quality and safety in relation to blood, tissue/cells and organs. Second, it has led to the development of institutional arrangements that promote a bifurcated approach to risk governance, specifically in relation to blood and tissues/cells. Although a hybrid of traditional and new governance mechanisms have been employed to address this problem of disconnection, this has nevertheless added a further layer to already complex institutional arrangements for risk governance in the area. It is suggested that a more integrated approach to EU risk governance in relation to human material is needed. Implementing such an approach would contribute to greater clarity, transparency and accountability in decision-making processes, and this could enhance public trust in what is a politically-sensitive area of governance at EU level.

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Is the Gift Still Good? Examining the Politics and Regulation of Blood Safety in the European Union

Cited by 20 publications

References 0 publications

Revaluing donor and recipient bodies in the globalised blood economy: Transitions in public policy on blood safety in the United Kingdom

Revaluing donor and recipient bodies in the globalised blood economy: Transitions in public policy on blood safety in the United Kingdom

The making of a risk object: AIDS, gay citizenship and the meaning of blood donation in Sweden in the early 1980s

The Politics of Risk and EU Governance of Human Material

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