Paper short abstract:

Through description of processes at stake to make blood in blood products in Belgium, I’ll explain why certain details of it are rarely disclosed and how it could be interesting, conversely, to diffusate biomedical, social and industrial knowledge involved in the making of blood products.

Paper long abstract:

Blood donation is still necessary to the care of many patients today. Whether in emergency or as part of more or less chronic treatment, blood and its derivatives are used to heal. Between blood donated and blood distributed to hospitals or pharmaceutical companies, many stages are crossed and the blood gradually changes state and status. I propose to explore how blood, subject of multiple symbolic representations, is gradually becoming a disembodied biomedical resource and why certain details are rarely disclosed to public, such as the destruction of donations or particular uses of plasma. The knowledge that circulates or not between the different links in the transfusion chain would be essential to make voluntary blood collection works and some details are retained by the institution for quality and quantity purposes.

My intervention will be based on my ethnographic work within the Blood Service of the Belgian Red Cross, with the presentation of some questions I deal with during my current thesis work, as I follow the path of blood between donors and recipients (collection, transport, analyzes, blood processing and delivery). I would like to discuss the possibility that more informations and transparency about the elaboration of blood products, could bring positive effects for the quality of pharmaceuticals made from blood. The shape and content of this information device has yet to be imagined, and anthropological work could be a reflexion support for the institution in charge to collect and transform blood.