Regulatory Anatomy: How ‘‘Safety Logics’’ Structure European Transplant Medicine

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelfagfællebedømt

This article proposes the term ‘‘safety logics’’ to understand attempts
within the European Union (EU) to harmonize member state legislation
to ensure a safe and stable supply of human biological material for
transplants and transfusions. With safety logics, I refer to assemblages
of discourses, legal documents, technological devices, organizational
structures, and work practices aimed at minimizing risk. I use this term
to reorient the analytical attention with respect to safety regulation.
Instead of evaluating whether safety is achieved, the point is to explore
the types of ‘‘safety’’ produced through these logics as well as to
consider the sometimes unintended consequences of such safety work.
In fact, the EU rules have been giving rise to complaints from practi-
tioners finding the directives problematic and inadequate. In this article,
I explore the problems practitioners face and why they arise. In short, I
expose the regulatory anatomy of the policy landscape.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftScience, Technology & Human Values
Vol/bind40
Udgave nummer4
Sider (fra-til)516-538
Antal sider22
ISSN0162-2439
DOI
StatusUdgivet - jul. 2015

ID: 138822202