Survey shows Americans receptive to pig-to-human transplants, but concerned about viruses
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Key takeaways:
- More than 50% of respondents said they would opt for a pig-to-human transplant if it were as effective and they could get it sooner.
- Overall, 54% of respondents said they were concerned about viruses.
PHILADELPHIA — Results from a large national survey presented here show Americans are receptive to the idea of xenotransplantation but concerned about transmitted pig viruses.
“Xenotransplantation (XTx) presents a promising clinical alternative to address the current shortage of human organs,” Luz Padilla, MD, MSPH, of the department of surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues wrote in a poster at the American Transplant Congress. “Recently, XTx has been performed using decedent models and under expanded access approval as a prelude to human clinical trials. Before such trials can occur, public assessments are crucial to understand potential barriers to acceptance, as recommended by key regulatory bodies,” they wrote.
Padilla and colleagues launched the survey last year to assess demographic characteristics and attitudes toward XTx; it was distributed to a nationally representative sample of adults in the U.S. via the distribution platform Cint.
From May 25, 2023, to June 14, 2023, 5,008 respondents completed the survey. “Respondents were evenly distributed across U.S. regions,” and were aged 18 to 65 years old, Padilla and colleagues wrote. Overall, 47.6% of respondents were men, about 50% had a college degree or higher level of education and 61.7% identified as being white. “Approximately 25% reported close transplant experiences as recipients or as waitlisted candidates or were closely connected to a recipient or someone in need of an organ,” the researchers wrote.
The survey results showed that, overall, less than 20% of respondents indicated they were familiar with XTx, “but [more than] 40% of respondents had heard of recent XTx experiments via the media,” they wrote. “Approximately 40% expressed reservations about using pigs for human transplants and reported discomfort with the idea of receiving a pig organ for themselves, their child or a loved one. Notably, 38% reported being more comfortable with a pig organ after learning during the survey that the source pig was genetically modified.
“If a pig organ were as effective as a human organ transplant, over 50% would opt for the pig organ if it meant a faster transplant,” the authors wrote. “Even in the absence of xenotransplant outcome data, 36% expressed willingness to participate in experimental XTx if in need of an organ. However, 57% rated lack of current evidence of success or fear of rejection/complications as their top concerns.” Overall, 54% of respondents were concerned about potential xenozoonosis, an infection caused by animal-derived bacteria or viruses.
Survey data showed that respondents who were younger, women or from a historically underrepresented group were more likely to have a lower acceptance of XTx.
“Despite overall acceptance [about xenotransplantation], concerns persist,” Padilla and colleagues concluded. “Identifying opportunities to increase public acceptance will be key as the field progresses toward human clinical trials and eventual translation to clinical practice.”
Collapse
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts