Inconsistencies in Pregnant Mothers’ Attitudes and Willingness to Donate Umbilical Cord Stem Cells: A Cross-Sectional Analysis from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The collection and storage of umbilical cord stem cells (UCSCs) have a crucial role in improving and expanding stem cell-based therapies, which are becoming popular in Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries. Many patients and families in Saudi Arabia depend on private cord banks in foreign countries to purchase stem cells, which has financial and medical implications. The current study aims at determining the predictors of current registration status and willingness to donate cord blood stem cells among expectant mothers in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study collected data from 714 expectant mothers from all thirteen regions of Saudi Arabia in December 2022. The online survey questionnaire assessed women’s awareness, direct and indirect exposure to stem-cell therapy, sources of knowledge, willingness, reluctance, and current registration status to donate cord blood. Although women demonstrated higher acceptance and lower rejection towards the donation of UCSCs, just one percent (n = 7; 1%) of expectant mothers in this sample are registered with the Saudi Stem Cell Registry. Overall, 48% indicated their willingness to register in the future. Both correlational analysis and multiple regression analysis demonstrated that awareness significantly predicted willingness to donate (p < 0.01), and rejection attitudes were negatively related to willingness to donate (p < 0.001). Although the mean scores on acceptance were high, they were not found to be significantly associated with willingness to donate. Prior direct and indirect exposure to stem cell therapy appeared to be the strongest predictor of pregnant women’s willingness to register (p < 0.001). Findings suggest that acceptance attitudes do not have a symmetrical relationship with intention. Women’s prior exposure to stem cell therapy was the most significant factor; therefore, findings demonstrate that currently women are relying on their firsthand experience to decide about cord blood donation rather than the information obtained from other sources, such as social media and the internet. Though attitudes were not identified as significant predictors in the statistical models, awareness was a relevant factor, and the findings signify increasing awareness in various target populations to enhance the probability of intention to donate cord stem cells.

Hybrid cord blood banking in a private‐public‐partnership: Women's perspectives

“…The integrative review by Peperdy et al 12 had led to the same conclusion. Other authors 13,14 furthermore underlined the importance of raising more awareness among medical professionals in order to be able to provide correct and differentiated pieces of information to expecting parents, directing them to reliable sources and increasing their knowledge regarding UCB donation or storage.…”

Exploring Parental Knowledge, Attitudes, and Factors Influencing Decision-Making in Stem Cell Banking: Rising the Future of Medical Treatment

“…Numerous studies of people's knowledge, comprehension, preferences, and attitudes regarding CB banking have been carried out in different countries. The majority of those findings indicate a lack of public awareness, with mothers and even medical professionals and other healthcare providers assumed to be knowledgeable about it [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Therefore, the primary purpose of the present study is to determine the level of knowledge of SCB among the Saudi Arabian population.…”

Knowledge about stem cell sources and obstacles in donation of bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells: a cross-sectional survey from Ha’il city to track the prospects of regenerative medicine in Saudi Arabia

“…Other local studies assessed the knowledge and attitudes of medical professionals and nursing students [ 14 , 15 ]. In our prior national study, we found that rates of registration for donation umbilical cord stem cells among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia was just around one percent [ 16 ]. It is, therefore, of prime significance to study current levels of knowledge about sources of stem cells and donor agencies among different sub-populations from geographical regions which have not been explored earlier.…”