A survey of medical students on their attitudes towards face transplantation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess and analyse the attitudes of medical students towards face transplantation. Medical students at the University of Cape Town were prospectively surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. There were 402 participants; the mean age was 21 years (range 16-37 years), 35% were male and 65% were female. Only 12% were registered organ donors and 33% were interested in a surgical career. Two thirds of the respondents were in favour of face transplantation. Registered organ donors were the most willing to donate their face in the event of brain death (P = 0.00). Seventy-four percent of the respondents stated 'identity issues' as their main concern and 33% mentioned cost as a critical factor when considering the procedure. Personal experience with facial disfigurement and involvement in the care of a patient with facial disfigurement did not affect the willingness to donate or accept a face transplant, or the amount of support for the procedure (P > 0.05). This is the first study that exclusively describes the attitudes of medical students towards face transplantation.

Vascularized Composite Allograft Donation and Transplantation: A Survey of Public Attitudes in the United States

“…Support was strongest for hand/forearm and leg transplantation and, while still favorable, comparatively weaker for face, penis, and uterus transplantation. This finding seems to mirror the collective studies that have been published regarding VCA attitudes in different populations and in different regions of the world . Importantly, we also found moderate to high willingness to donate VCA organs at the time of one's own death, although this varied by body part type (which directly supports the OPTN policy decision to require explicit permission for specific VCA donations), reflected a weaker level of commitment than for traditional solid organs and tissues and was not as strong as the support for VCA transplantation.…”

“…A similar level of willingness for face donation (50.8%) was found in a predominantly Muslim population in Turkey . Interestingly, medical students in South Africa were considerably less likely to consider face donation (24%) .…”

“…While public attitudes toward traditional organ and tissue donation are quite favorable (15), comparatively little is known about attitudes toward VCA donation and transplantation specifically. Surveys of the public, health care professionals, and students in various countries have found generally favorable attitudes toward hand, face, and uterus transplantation (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). In the United States, the 2012 National Survey of Organ Donation Attitudes and Behavior by Gallup, Inc. (15) found that while most respondents supported both hand and face donation, people were more willing to consider becoming a hand donor (80%) than a face donor (58%).…”

Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals and the impact on willingness to donate organs: a tertiary hospital survey

“…A questionnaire was constructed based on existing literature and clinical experience. (1,18,(28)(29)(30)(31)(32) It contained 51 items and included ten demographic features, 25 knowledge questions and 16 attitude questions. Collected sociodemographic data included profession, position, gender, age, religion and ethnicity.…”

A Comprehensive Strategy for Reconstruction of a Missing Midface

“… 11 , 12 Recently, FT has also been regarded as an innovation for treating a severely damaged face. 4 , 13 However, considering the complicated surgical procedures, the need for life-long immunosuppression, the meticulous selection of the patient and the donor body, the unsatisfactory mortality rate, and the ethical controversy, 4 , 13 , 14 FT still must overcome many hurdles before it will gain widespread acceptance. In our case, we proposed a comprehensive strategy that involved DO, a free composite tissue graft, orthodontic treatment, orthognathic surgery, implanted prostheses, and rhinoplasty.…”