title: Would you be a face transplant donor? A survey of the Turkish population about face allotransplantation.
abstract: With the technical advancement in face allotransplantation, we decided to survey the Turkish population to gain perspective into their thoughts and reactions toward face transplantation. A questionnaire was given to 1000 volunteers, regarding data about demographics, educational status, religious, and behavioral preferences. Their attitudes about donating their faces, knowledge about the pros and cons of this procedure, and personal desire for face transplantation if needed were inquired.The results of the survey demonstrated that knowing more about the procedure increases its acceptance but even so, the majority would rather undergo multiple operations with self-tissues before getting a facial transplantation (FT). When the risks of immunosuppression were exposed, less people agreed to FT, thinking it was not worth the risks.The cultural, ethnical, religious, and social background of different societies may influence the way FT is perceived and accepted. As this procedure is thought to challenge many ethical, physiological, and social points of views, we believe that it is important for a surgical team to have insight into their population's perception and general thoughts concerning the issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery and Hand Surgery, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selahattin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozmen
authors.forename: Fulya
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Findikcioglu
authors.forename: Billur
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sezgin
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Findikcioglu
authors.forename: Ismail
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kucuker
authors.forename: Kenan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Atabay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D054445:Facial Transplantation / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012067:Religion; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000941:ethics; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult