Population of Senegal Residents in Spain: Acceptance of Organ Xenotransplantation

Abstract

Introduction: Spain is a great receptor of immigration from sub-Saharan people like the Senegalese. This population is not very familiar with the process of organ donation and transplantation, and even less toward new therapies related to transplantation, such as xenotransplantation (XenoTx).

Objective: Analyze the attitude toward XenoTx among the Senegalese population living in Spain.

Material and methods: Population under study. Population born in Senegal and resident in Spain.

Inclusion criteria: Sample of population over 15 years stratified by age and sex, according to census data and immigrant assistance associations.

Instrument: Validated questionnaire of attitude toward donation and organ transplantation "PCID-XenoTx-Ríos." Field work. Random selection of respondents based on stratification. The support of immigration support associations was required to obtain sample locations. The completion was anonymous and self-administered.

Results: A sample of 468 Senegalese was obtained. Twenty percent (n = 92) would accept a solid organ xenotransplant if the results were similar to human organs, 40% (n = 188) have doubts, and 40% (n = 188) would not accept it. If the results were worse than with human organs, only 8% would accept it (n = 38). Respondents with a favorable attitude toward XenoTx presented a more favorable attitude toward cadaveric donation (70.5% vs 31.3%; P < .001). The attitude toward acceptance of XenoTx is related to socio-personal factors (P < .05), knowledge about the process of organ donation and transplantation (P < .05), social interaction factors (P < .001), and religious factors (P < .05).

Conclusions: Senegalese residing in Spain do not have a favorable attitude toward XenoTx. A direct relationship between the attitude toward XenoTx and organ donation is observed.