Could we use blood donation campaigns as social policy tools? British Shi’i ritual of giving blood

ABSTRACT

This article examines the role of the third sector and civil society in addressing the inadequacies of state policies on migration in Europe. It centres on the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign (IHBDC), a faith-based, third sector organisation which is established by second and third generation of Shia Muslim British citizens. The study utilises ethnography and interviews with all of the main figures of the IHBDC activists and many donors across England and Scotland. There are two analytic goals for this study. First, it re-examines the gift-relationship theory of Richard Titmuss on using blood donation as a policy tool. Secondly, it explains how a religious narrative can shape the civic engagement of children of migrants and help them in negotiating their sense of identity in the British context. The idea is that religiously reinforced civic engagement empowers them in their transition to establishing a unique European Shia identity.

KEYWORDS:

• Richard Titmuss
• blood donation
• social policy
• Shi’ism
• Muslims
• migration

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Janet Carsten, Jacob Copeman, Andrew J. Newman, Lotte Segal, Emilija Zabiliute and Stephen Norrie for their helpful criticisms and comments and all the members of the IHBDC for their collaborations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

I would like to extend my gratitude to the Leverhulme Trust, whose Early Career Fellowship [ECF-2017-153] provided the funding for this research project.