The Gift Relationship: From Human Blood to Social Policy [Hardcover]

Richard Morris Titmuss (Author), Ann Oakley (Editor), John Ashton (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1997

Richard M. Titmuss's The Gift Relationship has long been acknowledged as one of the classic texts on social policy. A seemingly straightforward comparative study of blood donating in the United States and Britain, the book elegantly raises profound economic, political, and philosophical questions. Titmuss contrasts the British system of reliance on voluntary donors to the American one in which the blood supply is largely in the hands of for-profit enterprises and shows how a nonmarket system based on altruism is more effective than one that treats human blood as another commodity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The force and elegance of a novel and the immediacy of an emergency news bulletin. -- The New York Times

From The Washington Post

A first-class study. . . moving from the relationship between blood donor and blood recipient to that between patient and physician, and thence to the very foundation of human societies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The; Exp Sub edition (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565844033
• ISBN-13: 978-1565844032
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #253,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gift of Life, but how much is it really worth?, July 28, 2000

By 

Rishi Popat - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gift Relationship: From Human Blood to Social Policy (Hardcover)

Richard M. Titmuss's The Gift Relationship: From Human Blood to Social Policy has to be the best book that I have read this summer. It is hard to believe that this book was first published half a century ago and still holds true of the social and economical policies of life, metaphorically represented as blood. The first few chapters in this book that has recently been included in this edition illustrate the importance of how the concept of donating a non-substitute fluid of life presents various dilemmas in association with recent outbreaks like A.I.D.S. Originally, when I first purchased this book, I thought I would criticize how such social and economical policies have changed significantly over the fifty years. However, after reading this fascination and quite reflective book on our society and generosity today, I have realized that not much has changed since this book was first written. Yet, Titmuss does not accept or reject certain theories of the concept whether it is right or wrong to get paid to donate blood as opposed to voluntary donation. This book satiates the curiosity of how giving blood originated for the economics, anthropologist, philosopher, as well as for the average individual. Those who seek a challenge in trying to understand our health care system and H.M.O's will find this book as a great source of comparing how the giving of life has changed over the years, in the United States and abroad. Most of what Titmuss describes in his technical language is based on the H.M.S health care in England. However, the reader will hopefully realize the similarities and differences in socialized medicine compared to our managed health care as established today. If you are looking for an intellectually stimulating book questioning what is the gift of life and how much it is worth economically and socially, Richard M. Titmuss's The Gift Relationship: From Human Blood to Social Policy is the prescribed treatment for you.