ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the dynamics of in/exclusion that the gift involves. On the one hand, the gift has the remarkable power to make strangers and even enemies into friends. However, on the other hand the gift itself may also exclude the recipient. While the gift is associated with personal, lasting relationships with friends and family members, relations within the market are regarded as impersonal, transitory connections between strangers. The case of blood donation is highly fascinating because it calls into question many of the ideas usually associated with the gift. Blood donation is a case that shows that we do not always only look out for our self-interest when dealing with strangers, but there is room for generosity as well. As a gift to strangers, blood donation comes to embody some of the features of what has been associated with 'cosmopolitanism', citizenship of the world.
