Cord-Blood Banking in China: Public and Private Tensions Haidan Chen Received: 9 July 2010 / Accepted: 28 January 2011 q National Science Council, Taiwan 2011 Abstract 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. Keywords cord bloodÁstem cellsÁblood bankÁbiopoliticsÁChina 1 Introduction The burgeoning interest in stem cells and regenerative medicine has made the collec- tion of umbilical cord blood a topic of great and controversial interest. Once con- sidered waste, umbilical cord blood now is recognized as a clinically valuable biological material and is used as a substitute for bone marrow in the treatment of blood diseases (Waldby and Mitchell 2006). The first cord-blood transplant was per- formed in France in 1988. A six-year-old boy with severe Fanconi anemia received umbilical cord blood from a younger sister with identical human leukocyte antigens (HLA), subsequently regaining his health (Gluckman et al. 1989). Since that time, more than 3,500 cord-blood transplants have been performed worldwide (Warwick and Armitage 2004). Cord blood has several advantages over bone marrow: it is harvested at birth, so there is no physical risk to either mother or infant; it is more easily collected; and it is a richer source. Moreover, cord-blood transplants result in Research for this essay was supported by the Seventh Framework Program of European Union project REMEDiE (Regenerative Medicine in Europe: Emerging Needs and Challenges in a Global Context), SSH-CT-2008-217180. I thank my interview partners for their time and help. H. Chen (*) Center for the Study of Language and Cognition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 310028 e-mail: haidan.chen@hotmail.com East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal (2011) 5:329–339 DOI 10.1215/18752160-1408076