Determinants of stakeholders’ attitudes to xenotransplantation

BACKGROUND: Advances in xenotransplantation have the potential to resolve the issue of organ shortages. Despite this, the procedure is expected to meet with a degree of resistance from the public. The purpose of this study was to identify the relevant factors influencing stakeholders' attitudes towards xenotransplantation. METHODS: A multidimensional survey instrument measuring attitudes to xenotransplantation, including the factors that predict such attitudes, was developed based on earlier studies and validated. It was then completed by 469 respondents who were stratified in accordance with stakeholder groups in Malaysia. A single-step SEM analysis was then conducted to estimate the measurement and create a structural model using IBM SPSS Amos version 20 with a maximum-likelihood function. RESULTS: The attitudes of Malaysian stakeholders towards xenotransplantation were moderately positive (mean score of 4.20). The most important direct predictor of attitude to xenotransplantation was perceived benefit (β = 0.59, P < .001) followed by perceived moral concern (β = -0.32, P < .001). Perceived risk had a strong positive association with moral concern (β = 0.65, P < .001), while attitude to nature had a positive association with perceived benefit (β = 0.16, P < .01) and a negative association with perceived risk (β = -0.19, P < .01). Religiosity had a positive relationship with perceived risk (β = 0.13, P < .05) while engagement with biotechnology had a positive relationship with perceived benefits (β = 0.26, P < .001) and a negative association with risks (β = -0.15, P < .05) and moral issues (β = -0.11, P < .05). CONCLUSION: The Malaysian stakeholders were cautious about xenotransplantation. This study showed that their views regarding the application are complex and multifaceted.