Blood's ontologies-entangled: Qualitative inquiry into the enactment, representation, and organizational modes of coordination of blood's multiplicity in a Belgian blood establishment. (July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wittock, Nathan; De Krom, Michiel P. M. M.; Hustinx, Lesley
• Other Names: Czarniawska Barbara guest-editor.; O'Doherty Damian guest-editor.; Neyland Daniel guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Organization. Volume 26:Number 4(2019:Jul.)
• Page Start: 470
• Page End: 491
• Publication Date: 2019-07
• Subjects: Blood-supply management -- enactment -- modes of coordination -- multiplicity -- organization -- praxiography -- renewed object of concern; Organizational sociology -- Periodicals; Organization -- Periodicals; 302.35
• DOI: 10.1177/1350508418808234
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1350-5084

Abstract

Since British sociologist Titmuss authoritatively conceived blood donation as an altruistic 'gift relationship', blood establishments have adopted blood's highly symbolic status as a core professional belief. However, important developments since the 1970s have resulted in blood's bio-objectification, making blood a renewed object of concern. Because different versions of this bio-object are simultaneously present and interfere with one another, we ask how the organization renders this multiplicity workable? Studying how ontological versions are enacted in a specific blood establishment and how the organizational model of a blood establishment functions as a mode of coordination, we develop a praxiographic appreciation of blood in the context of a specific Belgian blood establishment. We show how the organizational mode of coordination allocates versions of blood in specific departments along functional and chronological dimensions. Blood remains the object of a gift relationship but is accompanied by blood's enactment and representation as the object of suspicion, management, research/biology, and a blood economy. Furthermore, the organizational mode of coordination also allocates personalized and depersonalized enactments according to the level of contact with the donor population. This reflects a third dimension: (de)personalization of blood. Whereas the organizational mode of coordination is successful in rendering blood's multiplicity workable, at times, it causes suboptimal practices. Moreover, we showed how sometimes a focus on intra-departmental modes of coordination is necessary to understand how blood's multiplicity complicates the practices of the blood establishment.