Cord-Blood Banking in China: Public and Private Tensions

摘要

Cord-blood banking has become an important component in the develop-ment of stem-cell innovation and regenerative medicine, but this field is also charac-terized by acute uncertainty. This essay explores China's public–private banking model through an empirical case study of the Tianjin Cord Blood Bank. I argue that the Chinese model of "using banks to pay for banks" reflects a mutation in contem-porary biopolitics. This model could help solve funding problems in the collection of public cord blood, but it also creates public–private tensions and dilemmas within the cord-blood economy. Thus, robust and strict regulations are needed to encourage the development of biomedical innovation while protecting the public interest in China.