TY - JOUR TI - American blood banks DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3Q23X86 PY - 2013 AB - The U.S. blood supply system, which underpins much of modern healthcare, daily engages in both market and gift exchange. Voluntary blood donation in the midst of a profit-oriented healthcare system is usually taken for granted and rarely discussed in the national debate over commodification of medicine. This thesis investigates how non-profit blood banks balance the demands of all the markets that they participate in, while supplying a substance that is provided as a gift by donors. The research questions are: What are the historical roots of the American blood supply system, or how was the current mix of commodity and gift exchange established? What kind of calculation, competition, and price setting do blood banks engage in? What kind of gift exchange do blood banks engage in? How is blood both a commodity and a gift, and what does this mean for blood banks? Using an analytical framework based on Michel Callon’s theory of market formation, the thesis investigates U.S. Senate archives from the 1960s and interviews with current blood bank staff in New Jersey to describe the historical and contemporary practices that allow blood banks to manage their participation in multiple economies. This research confirms the idea that blood can be considered both a gift and a commodity, while demonstrating how people in a variety of organizational roles theorize this situation. KW - Geography KW - Blood banks--United States KW - Commodification KW - Blood--Collection and preservation--United States LA - eng ER -