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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

So excited to be back at Be Curious with our book, Amazing Blood Ties! Looking forward to meeting little (and big) curious minds today! Stop by our stall at Parkinson Court, University of Leeds 10:00-16:00 today! hematopolitics.org/amazing-bloo...

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

We're happy to share: Amazing Blood Ties! written by Jieun Kim (PI of Hematopolitics) and illustrated by Leigh Bowser. This children’s book introduces kids aged 5–8 to the stories behind blood donation and how we’re all connected. Freely available at: hematopolitics.org/amazing-bloo...

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Hematopolitics are taking part in the ESRC Festival of Social Science! This event runs from 18th October to 8th November 2025. We will be introducing 'Amazing Blood Ties!', a children's book on blood donation that she co-created with textile artist Leigh Bowser.

An embroidered image of three mice, each holding a strand of red thread. The mice are smiling and looking towards the viewer. They are emerging from a red blood drop. At the top in red font reads 'Amazing Blood Ties!'.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

It’s time for a brilliant paper by Sangeeta Chattoo on Liquid Life: Transfusions, A Poisoned Challis, and the Politics of Hope.

Sangeeta Chattoo stood at a podium presenting her work, which is displayed on the screen.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

After a brilliant keynote from Jenny Bangham, we’re now hearing from Samin Rashidbeigi on cadaveric blood transfusions in Iran during the Cold War.

A screen showing a PowerPoint presentation with four anatomical images of the skin with vessels on display.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Today’s the day! We’re delighted to welcome everyone to our second Hematopolitics Symposium at Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds.

A sign at Thackray Museum of Medicine advertising the University of Leeds’ Hematopolitics Symposium 2.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

We’ll be at Be Curious this year! Come and explore our stall on blood donation and discover all the great research happening in Leeds. We can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on with you! More details here: www.leeds.ac.uk/becurious

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

CALL FOR PAPERS We are delighted to share the CFP for our second symposium, ‘The Politics of Blood Donation and Transfusion: Histories, Controversies, and Futures’. Details on how to apply, including a link to our submission site, can be found via our website: hematopolitics.org/symposium/

The Politics of Blood Donation and Transfusion: Histories, Controversies, and Futures
6 June 2025, Thackray Museum of Medicine (Leeds, UK)
Keynote Speaker: Dr Jenny Bangham (University of Edinburgh)
From early transfusion experiments and wartime blood banking to contemporary controversies over donor eligibility and the global plasma economy, blood has been a site of both solidarity and division. At the same time, new developments in synthetic blood, xenotransfusion, and bioengineered alternatives challenge existing frameworks of donation and transfusion, raising questions about the future of blood governance, ethics, and access.
This symposium seeks to examine the historical, social, and political dimensions of blood donation and transfusion, focusing on how they have been governed, contested, and reimagined across time and space. We invite contributions from scholars in anthropology, history, sociology, medical humanities, Science and Technology Studies, bioethics, and related fields.
This symposium is held in conjunction with the special exhibition Blood: Ties and Tensions at the Thackray Museum of Medicine and will feature a keynote lecture by Dr. Jenny Bangham, author of Blood Relations: Transfusion and the Making of Human Genetics (2020, University of Chicago Press). Panellists will also have the opportunity to explore the exhibition, fostering further discussions around its curated themes. A limited number of bursaries will be available to support domestic travel for postgraduate, early career researchers, and independent scholars.

Some key questions we seek to explore:
• How have the politics of blood donation and transfusion changed over time, and how do these shifts reflect broader transformations in biomedicine, nationalism, and social imaginaries?
• How has the history of blood banking shaped knowledge and discourses on race and ethnicity, class and caste, gender, sex, sexuality, and citizenship?
• How do infrastructures of blood banking and the commercialization of blood products reproduce or mitigate global health inequalities?
• What ethical and political challenges emerge with new blood technologies, such as synthetic blood, xenotransfusion, and stem cell-based alternatives?
• How do patients, donors, and medical professionals experience and navigate the evolving landscape of blood donation and transfusion?
• How do artistic, literary, and activist engagements with blood expose or reimagine the politics of donation and transfusion?
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
• Historical and contemporary shifts in donor eligibility and exclusion
• National blood donation policies and their political and ethical stakes
• Racialised and gendered discourses surrounding blood donation and transfusion
• Ethics and governance of blood banking, plasma economies, and commercialised donation
• Technological futures: synthetic blood, xenotransfusion, and regenerative medicine
• Stigma and discrimination in blood donation and patients receiving transfusion
• Political, aesthetic, and activist engagements with blood donation and transfusion in media, art, and literature
To apply:
Please submit a 200–300 word abstract and a brief bio (100-150 word) via the Submission Point by 25 April.
We hope the symposium will lead to contributions to a special issue or edited volume. For any inquiries, please contact Dr Jieun Kim (j.e.kim@leeds.ac.uk) or Dr Claire Turner (c.o.turner@leeds.ac.uk).

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Thank you so much to everyone who attended tonight’s exhibition launch! We had an amazing time networking with everyone involved in the production of ‘Blood: Ties and Tensions’. We can’t wait to see what you all think of it!

Three Hematopolitics researchers stood outside an art installation within the exhibition space.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

The exhibition will feature a range of fascinating objects relating to blood donation and transfusion across the centuries, and will play host to an art installation by fantastic local artist Gemma Wood. Here's a sneak preview!

An abstract, artistic portrayal of blood vessels, some of which are made of a rough hessian material, and others which are made of red pieces of twine.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

The Hematopolitics team are absolutely thrilled to share details of our upcoming exhibition in collaboration with @thackraymuseum.bsky.social, opening Feb 8! thackraymuseum.co.uk/event/blood/

A promotional poster detailing a temporary exhibition hosted by Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds. The background is a pale peach colour. The main feature of the poster is an abstract, artistic portrayal of blood vessels, some of which are made of a rough hessian material, and others which are made of red pieces of twine. Overlaying this artwork, in bold white text, is the word BLOOD. The subtitle reads 'Ties and Tensions'. Underneath are a series of logos, including the Arts Council England, Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the University of Leeds.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

🩸 CALL FOR RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS 🩸 Our brilliant PhD student Sarah Chadwick is looking for participants for her project on blood donation and social difference. If you're of Caribbean or Pakistani heritage, please consider reaching out via the email address on the poster!

Call for Research Participants

I am looking for Caribbean and Pakistani volunteers to take part in a study to explore experiences with blood and/or your relationship with blood donation in Leeds and Bradford area.

Your participation would involve attending an interview lasting approximately 1 hour with the researcher either in person or on Microsoft Teams.

All interviews are confidential and you will be able to select your anonymity level.

To be suitable for this study, you must:

Be of Caribbean or Pakistani heritage
Live or have lived in the Leeds or Bradford area
Age 18+

You don’t have to have donated blood to participate.

If you would like more information, or would like to part, please contact:

mlslc@leeds.ac.uk

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Call for Bilingual University of Leeds Student Volunteers (Korean & English) 📢 Are you interested in NGOs, healthcare, or translation and interpretation? Join our University of Leeds’ international research team, Hematopolitics, for an exciting project! Please share!

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

And last but certainly not least is our PhD Student and Co-Production Co-Lead Sarah Chadwick!

Biography of Sarah Chadwick, PhD Student and Co-Production Co-Lead: Sarah Chadwick is a third-year CDA PhD student in the School of Languages, Cultures, and Societies. Her research, funded by WRoCAH, investigates the racial dynamics of blood donation since 1946 through public health material and the blood donation spaces of Leeds and Bradford. Sarah works in partnership with Thackray Museum of Medicine, who house a large collection of objects related to her research interests. Sarah will design and lead co-production sessions in line with Thackray’s upcoming exhibition on blood.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Next up is our newly-appointed Digital Engagement Fellow, Claire Turner.

Biography of Dr Claire Turner, Digital Engagement Fellow: Dr Claire Turner is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Society for Renaissance Studies. She is currently researching the sensory history of cancer in early modern England. She recently worked as a Research Assistant for the Wellcome-funded LivingBodiesObjects project, where she designed exhibition materials for Thackray Museum of Medicine. Claire is interested in how we convey the senses through digital media, a question she hopes to answer as Digital Engagement Fellow.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Meet the team! As part of our (re)launch, we're introducing you to the brilliant researchers working on the Hematopolitics project. First up is our Project Lead, Dr Jieun Kim.

Biography of Dr Jieun Kim, Project Lead: Dr Jieun Kim is a socio-cultural anthropologist fascinated by the ways personal narratives reflect and shape social identity and belonging. Her research in Japan and South Korea focuses on how people navigate social boundaries, with a special interest in the multiple meanings of blood and blood donation. As the Project Leader of "Hematopolitics," she is excited to listen to people's stories and explore creative and engaging ways to share them with wider publics.

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Hematopolitics @hematopolitics.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Welcome to the new Hematopolitics account here on BlueSky! We're super excited to move to this platform and share our exciting research with everyone. Expect a few re-introductions over the coming days. Please give us a follow and share our work!

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