Department of Sociology, University of York, Heslington, York Y01 5DD.
Sociol Health Illn. 2013 Jan;35(1):97-112. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2012.01474.x. Epub 2012 Apr 12.
Umbilical cord blood (CB) has become established as an increasingly viable clinical alternative to bone marrow in the treatment of leukaemia leading to the construction of a global network of CB banks promoted through a moral ethos of gift. Additionally, some banks offer the opportunity to retain stem cells privately. CB is discursively presented as clinical 'waste', a 'by-product' of birthing. In this way CB units are made available to a global exchange-based bioeconomy. Crucially, CB collection has developed in parallel with several necessary obstetric practices, especially the immediate clamping of the cord following delivery, essential to high volume collection. However, this article strongly suggests the promotional basis of CB banking (such as by gift, waste or donation) is in tension with the growing preference of new parents to delay cord clamping. Based on focus groups with expectant parents, the promotion of CB banking can in fact be seen to feed into critical reflection on the value of CB for newborn infants, potentially reinvigorating a tradition of delayed umbilical cord clamping. Theoretically, these contradictory systems of valuing are conceptualised through recent literature on bioeconomy and Marx's writings on the contrasting tensions between use and exchange value.
脐带血（CB）已成为治疗白血病的一种越来越可行的临床替代骨髓的方法，这导致了全球 CB 银行网络的建设，这些银行是通过礼物的道德伦理来推动的。此外，一些银行提供了私人保留干细胞的机会。CB 被视为临床“废物”，是分娩的“副产品”。通过这种方式，CB 单位可在全球基于交换的生物经济中使用。至关重要的是，CB 采集与几项必要的产科实践同时发展，特别是在分娩后立即夹住脐带，这对大容量采集至关重要。然而，本文强烈表明 CB 银行的宣传基础（如礼物、废物或捐赠）与新父母越来越倾向于延迟脐带夹闭之间存在紧张关系。基于对准父母的焦点小组，CB 银行的宣传实际上可以被视为对 CB 对新生儿价值的批判性反思，这可能会重新激发延迟脐带夹闭的传统。从理论上讲，这些有价值的矛盾系统是通过最近关于生物经济的文献和马克思关于使用价值和交换价值之间对比紧张关系的著作来概念化的。
