Abstract
This article reports on two qualitative studies of tissue banks in the United Kingdom: the onCore UK Cancer Tissue Bank and the UK Stem Cell Bank. I use the language of Waldby and Mitchell's tissue economies to interrogate the shared ground between the two institutions as collators, moral guardians and distributors of human tissue. The article articulates the key ontological and ethical differences between cancer tissue taken directly from patients and embryonic stem cell material taken from 'spare' IVF embryos donated by couples undergoing treatment. In this context, a key focus of the article is the spatial and temporal formations both constraining and produced by each bank to demonstrate the ways in which both institutions are engaged in bringing stable modes of exchange to socially complex human tissue, to both control temporal multiplicity and tame geographical spread. I take seriously the spaces and places of each bank, and the movement and flows of tissue through them to demonstrate how tissue banks operate as 'moral refineries' supplying healthcare research.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 245-264 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Social Theory and Health |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2012 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Although both banks have commonalities in their funders, there are important differences that both reflect and are performative of their institutional trajectories and the timelines they embody. onCore UK was initially funded for 5 years with MRC and Department of Health seedcorn money, with no guarantees of continuation at a similar level. This 5-year period expired in 2009 and was not extended, causing the cessation of biobanking activity. onCore UK staff were aware of this possibility and worked hard to try and prevent it. After this, for more than a year, onCore UK continued to be funded by an under-spend from the previous grant and sought subsequent funding to continue its advisory work after this money was spent. However, they were unsuccessful, and in February 2011 onCore UK ceased to exist. The UK Stem Cell Bank was also originally funded on a 5-year basis and came up for review in 2007. Although keen to demonstrate their professionalism and good work, the UK Stem Cell Bank did not fear losing funding in the same way and received a time extension (Adam, 2004), fully funding it for another 5 years. In 2011, the bank’s funding was further extended until 2014.
Keywords
- banking
- cancer
- human tissue
- space
- stem cells
- temporality
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Sociology and Political Science
