A research group from the Kyoto University iPS Cell Research Institute/Institute for Advanced Research, Shizuoka Graduate School of Social Sciences and Medicine, and Hiroshima University Graduate School announced the results of a questionnaire survey of the Japanese public and scientists regarding the use of human genome editing.
Genome editing technology can lead to elucidation of the causes and development of treatments for infertility, genetic diseases, and intractable diseases, but when applied to humans, safety confirmation and ethical issues have not been sufficiently investigated, especially in Japan.The research group therefore conducted an online survey of the Japanese public and scientists about human genome editing, and obtained the following results.
Regarding human genome editing for research purposes, 28.2% to 36.9% of the general public answered that human genome editing is not permitted for any purpose, 5.1% to 9.2% of researchers answered that it would not be allowed for any purpose, and 25.5% to 50.4% of researchers answered that it would not be allowed for any purpose. 63.4%. Among the respondents who answered ``It's acceptable depending on the purpose,'' 39.3% to 42.8% of the general public accepted genome editing for research on infertility and intractable diseases, while basic research on humans was acceptable. It decreased from 73.6% to 90.8%.Among researchers, 60.9% to 66.7% accepted research on infertility, intractable diseases, and basic research, but acceptance decreased to XNUMX% to XNUMX% for research on chronic diseases.
Regarding the use of genome editing for medical purposes, 49.3% and 56.1% of the general public and researchers said that modifying the genetic traits of children before birth is "acceptable depending on the purpose," while 45.8% said it is "not acceptable for any purpose." 40.8% and 5.0%, and 3.1% and 63.6% said ``permitted for any purpose.''On the other hand, when it comes to genome editing of humans after birth, 89.8% and 32.6% said that it is ``permissible depending on the purpose,'' but 3.1% and XNUMX% said that it is ``not allowed for any purpose,'' which is a large difference.Next, among respondents who answered "acceptable depending on the purpose," both the general public and researchers tended to have a high degree of acceptance for the purpose of treating diseases, both before and after birth, while for the purpose of improving intelligence, constitution, personality, etc. Tolerance is noticeably low.
Overall, the results show that the general public is less accepting of the use of genome editing technology than researchers.
Paper information:【Frontiers in Genetics】Genome editing of human embryos for research purposes: Japanese lay and expert attitudes
