Veinglory: Exploring processes of blood transfer between persons

Abstract

This article examines processes involved in blood donation and 'blood management' in an anthropological light. It claims that blood management is not restricted to the procedures that medical professionals employ on blood outside of bodies, but that 'management' practice is enforced by donors themselves onto their own internal bodily processes. It suggests that donation and transfusion centre on issues of time-management and production; concepts of temporal synchrony and investment are employed to explore the implications of this dimension of blood donation. By way of a comparison with gift-giving amongst Jains in India, this article argues for an 'overlapping' of - and dependency between - different economies within blood-banking processes. In examining the general processes involved in blood donation, it aims to provide the groundwork for future comparative analyses of blood-banking processes. © Royal Anthropological Institute 2005.