Cords of collaboration: Interests and ethnicity in the UK's public stem cell inventory

Abstract

The UK's publically available blood stem cell infrastructure has undergone significant transformation in recent years as umbilical cord blood has joined adult donors as a viable clinical stem cell source. This paper describes the development of a collaborative governance arrangement between the UK's two domestic providers of blood stem cells: a public body and a charity. The paper argues that the collaborators, who stand to benefit from the alignment, legitimize their work through appeals to public good. It suggests that appeals to buy British obscure an inevitable requirement to cultivate international, networked stem cell exchange; the paper also explores collaborators' reinforcement of a supposed connection between human leukocyte antigen tissue type and ethnicity through claiming that the UK's ethnic minorities face an "unmet need." By way of this, the paper demonstrates the interconnection of collaborators' institutional interests with concerns for national health equity.