From (public?) waste to (private?) value. The regulation of private cord blood banking in Spain

Resumen

The transformation of umbilical cord blood from a waste by-product to a valuablesource of stem cells employed in haematological therapies has given rise to aglobalised commercial sector in cord blood banking, a sector based essentially onpromises of future therapies. Regulatory frameworks for these private services varyworldwide. This paper looks at the recent regulation of cord blood banking in Spain,taking this example as representative of some of the dilemmas currently faced bynational regulatory agencies over biotechnological innovations. The Spanish caseshows how, paradoxically, an attempt at producing a nationally comprehensive andrigorous regulatory order has led to the development of unregulated trans-nationalmarkets. This disjuncture problematises the traditional identifi cation in transplantationpractices between the nation-state, the social body and the solidarity of a nationalpopulation. The paper ends by suggesting an interpretation of the cord blood case aspart of recent mutations in biopolitics.