Resources

'He is now like a brother, I can even give him some blood': Relational ethics and material exchanges in a malaria vaccine 'trial community' in The Gambia

This paper explores social relations within the ‘trial community’ (staff and volunteers) of a Malaria Vaccine Trial (MVT), implemented by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in The Gambia between 2001 and 2004. It situates ethical concerns with medical research within the everyday life of scientific fieldwork. Based upon discussions with volunteers and staff, it looks at processes of mediation between scientific project and study population, between formal ethics, local ethical debates, and everyday practice.

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'Transport to where?': Reflections on the problem of value and time à propos an awkward practice in medical research

This resource examines the gap between the bioethics aversion to value transfers in clinical trials, and research participants' and researchers' expectations of these. It focuses upon so-called 'transport reimbursement' (TR): monetary payments to participants that are framed as mere refund of transport expenses, but which are of considerable value to recipients.

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