Johanna Hood

Discovery Early Career Research Fellow, School of Humanities and Languages, University of New South Wales

2019 to 2020
Research Fellow

Vital Fluid: Evolving Social, Moral and Economic Values of Blood and Cadavers in China

My project explores the changing economic, social, moral and political meanings of blood and cadavers across 20th and 21st century China, with a particular focus on the relationship between blood economies and multiple inequalities. Using archival research, the project forges new understandings of the selling, buying and donation of blood and cadavers in Chinese history, challenges contemporary understandings of resistance to blood, organ and cadaver donation, and will suggest solutions to contemporary problems in China’s blood sector. My project results will make a vital contribution to welfare, blood sector and policy reform and to the deeper understanding of concerns about health, inequality and security in China in an interconnected world.