Public Attitudes in Japan Toward the Reproductive use of Gametes Derived from Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the respondents (N = 3096).

	n	%
Sex
Male	1533	49.5
Female	1563	50.5
Age (years)
20–29	419	13.5
30–39	525	17.0
40–49	593	19.2
50–59	507	16.4
60–69	597	19.3
70–79	455	14.7
Marital status
Married	2066	66.7
Unmarried	1030	33.3
Presence or absence of children
Yes	1871	60.4
No	1225	39.6
Experience of infertility treatment
No	2772	89.5
Yes	261	8.4
I do not want to answer	63	2.0
Educational background
Elementary school	4	0.1
Junior high school	75	2.4
High school	1041	33.6
Technical college	351	11.3
Two-year college	327	10.6
Four-year college	1159	37.4
Postgraduate studies (master's degree)	105	3.4
Postgraduate studies (doctorate)	23	0.7
Other	11	0.4
Personal income (yen/year)
Less than two million	1175	38
Two to four million	698	22.5
Four to six million	410	13.2
Six to eight million	185	6.0
Eight to ten million	66	2.1
Ten to twelve million	33	1.1
Twelve to fifty million	7	0.2
Fifty to twenty million	6	0.2
Over twenty million	7	0.2
I do not know	195	6.3
I do not want to answer	314	10.1
Religious affiliation
No, I do not have a religious affiliation	2646	85.5
Yes, I have a religious affiliation	313	10.1
I do not want to answer	137	4.4
How much did you know about iPSCs?
I knew enough about them to be able to provide an explanation to a certain extent	607	19.6
I had only heard a bit about them	2267	73.2
I was not aware of them	222	7.2
Are you interested in iPSCs?
Yes, I am interested	2220	71.7
No, I am not interested	876	28.3
How much did you know about the “research for creating sperm/ova from hiPSCs”?
I knew enough about it to be able to provide an explanation to a certain extent	212	6.8
I had only heard a bit about it	1322	42.7
I was not aware of it	1562	50.5
How much did you understand the explanation on “the creation and use of hiPSC-derived sperm/ova”?
I fully understood it	128	4.1
I mostly understood it	2101	67.9
I could not understand it very well	743	24.0
I could not understand it at all	124	4.0

hiPSC: Human-induced pluripotent stem cell; iPSC: Induced pluripotent stem cell.

Figure 1. Attitude of acceptance by user type concerning the reproductive use of IVD-gametes.

Table 2. Concordance rates of ‘I don't know’ answers for acceptance by user type (Cohen's kappa coefficient).

		Q10_1_DK	Q10_2_DK	Q10_3_DK	Q10_4_DK	Q10_5_DK	Q10_6_DK
Q10_1_DK	Heterosexual married couple not needing infertility treatment
Q10_2_DK	Heterosexual married couple undergoing infertility treatment	0.668
Q10_3_DK	Heterosexual married couple unable to expect successful results of infertility treatment	0.662	0.851
Q10_4_DK	Heterosexual married couple unable to have children due to menopause	0.627	0.683	0.689
Q10_5_DK	Heterosexual unmarried couple not needing infertility treatment	0.793	0.656	0.662	0.686
Q10_6_DK	Person without, or preferring not to have, a partner	0.689	0.591	0.605	0.665	0.791
Q10_7_DK	Same-sex couple (gay/lesbian)	0.556	0.554	0.555	0.636	0.611	0.715

Figure 2. Attitude of acceptance by purpose type concerning the reproductive use of IVD-gametes.

Table 3. Concordance rates of ‘I don't know’ answers for acceptance by purpose type (Cohen's kappa coefficient).

		Q11_1_DK	Q11_2_DK	Q11_3_DK
Q11_1_DK	To use this technology to enable conception
Q11_2_DK	To avoid passing hereditary disorders to the child	0.674
Q11_3_DK	To produce children resistant to diseases	0.672	0.734
Q11_4_DK	To produce children with specific appearance or abilities	0.642	0.636	0.681

Figure 3. Personal preferences concerning the reproductive use of IVD-gametes.