The acceptability of pig organ xenografts to patients awaiting a transplant

Abstract

As the waiting lists for allotransplants of heart, kidney, and liver continue to grow, alternative sources of organs for transplantation are being sought: xenografts from pigs to humans could be a solution. However, is this solution acceptable to patients? To answer this question, we sought opinions, using a questionnaire, from 277 patients on a waiting list for a cadaver transplant for either a kidney (207), heart, or heart/lung transplant (70); there was a 65% (188) response rate. Approximately 75% of respondents had heard of xenografting; 50% would accept a xenograft for themselves and 43% for a relative; and 10% found a xenograft to be unacceptable and 40% were unsure and wanted more information. The most acceptable donor animal was the pig (27%), but 24% would accept organs from any animal; 68% had no objection to breeding animals as a source of organs and considered that the most appropriate use of animal tissue to be when no human organs were available. Thus, a minimum of 50% and a maximum of 90% of patients awaiting an allograft would accept a xenograft, although most would prefer a human rather than an animal donor.

Xenotransplantation public perceptions: rather cells than organs

“…Arundell et al. indicated that the frequency of acceptance was not higher among those patients who had waited for a long time than among those who had waited for a short time [11]. This is also in line with the results of Schlitt et al.…”

“…According to the authors, there were no significant differences in the responses of the three patient groups. Arundell and McKenzie reported that patients with chronic peritoneal dialysis (n=38) were slightly less interested (42 vs. 55%) in a xenograft than those on hemodialysis (n=75) [11].…”

Attitudes toward xenotransplantation-patients waiting for transplantation versus the general public

“…Table 1 What is your attitude toward receiving a kidney from an animal with the same result and risk of infection as with transplantation from a human? The operation can be planned and performed within 3 Missing answers 1 3 P < 0.001 (Mann-Whitney), P-value for test of difference in attitude…”

Understanding of and attitudes to xenotransplantation: a survey among Italian university students

“…Results of surveys conducted in Canada [16], France [17] and the USA [18] suggest a positive attitude to xenotransplantation: about half the general public would consider a xenograft if a human organ or tissue were unavailable. Transplant recipients [19] and patients waiting for transplantation [20,21] are the most in favor of xenotransplantation. A survey of Swedish university students’ views on the use of animals in biomedical research and xenotransplantation showed that three of four respondents accepted xenotransplantation [22].…”