Attitudes of women towards uterus transplantation in Turkey: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Background: Uterus transplantation represents a viable option for women suffering from uterine factor infertility, offering the prospect of conception and motherhood. As techniques and procedures continue to develop, uterus transplantation is expected to become increasingly important and commonplace. The purpose of this study was to evaluate women's attitudes towards uterus transplantation in Turkey.

Methods: This population-based survey study conducted via online questionnaires to 189 women between March and August 2023. The "Attitudes Towards Uterus Transplantation Questionnaire" was used to collect the data. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Of the women, 54.0% had heard of uterus transplantation, but 74.1% of them did not know that it was legally performed in Turkey. The options supported by women were assisted reproductive treatments (95.8%) or adoption (86.8%), rather than uterus transplantation (60.8%). Surrogacy was the least supported method of having a child (20.1%). Around half of the women did not want their relatives to know if they were uterus recipients (51.3%) or donors (48.1%). The best donor was thought to be an anonymous donor (52%). The mean score given by women for their attitudes towards uterus transplantation was 7 out of 10, on a scale of 0 to 10.

Conclusion: Although women's attitudes towards uterus transplantation were good, their awareness and knowledge of the procedure were quite low. This lack of awareness or negative attitudes meant that some of the women were hesitant about uterus transplantation. It is suggested that awareness be raised among women regarding uterus transplantation as a potential solution for those desirous of conception, particularly those encountering difficulties in conceiving.