Survey

At the end of 2002, Discovery Channel commissioned a unique international poll across 8 different countries to find out what people think about developments that are revolutionising our genetic future.

Here is a summary report of the findings:

Level of understanding of developments in genetic science overall
Among all the nationalities surveyed, the Poles claim to have the highest level of understanding of developments in genetic science, with some 65% saying they understand the advances either very or quite well. Around half of Britons (53%), Americans (53%), Danes (49%) and Turks (49%) think they understand the developments quite or very well.

In contrast, only around a quarter of Brazilians (27%), Mexicans (26%) and Taiwanese (22%) say they understand the developments in genetic science quite or very well, with some three-quarters (74%) of Taiwanese feeling they understand genetic advancements either not very well, or not at all.

A number of people in all the countries surveyed answer that they are 'not sure', with three in ten Turkish and Danish respondents giving this answer.

Genetic science and its uses
Survey respondents were asked the extent to which they agree or disagree with a series of statements about genetic science and its uses, using a 5 point scale ranging from 'agree strongly' to 'disagree strongly'.

Generally speaking, people still have opinions on genetic science and its uses regardless of whether or not they understand genetic science overall.

"Advances in genetic science will bring benefits to mankind"
Overall, Americans are the most positive that advances in genetic science will bring benefits to mankind, with some 82% agreeing (strongly or slightly). However in all countries surveyed, at least two-thirds of respondents agree with the statement (67% in the UK).

"Human genetic research is tampering with nature and as such is potentially dangerous"
A majority of all surveyed nationalities believe that human genetic research is tampering with nature and as such is potentially dangerous, except for the Danes, some 52% of whom disagree. The highest levels of agreement are among the British and Poles (65% in both countries agreeing, most of them strongly).

"The general public has control over the pace & nature of developments in genetic science"
Britons and Americans are the most inclined to feel that the pace and nature of developments in genetic science are beyond the control of ordinary people, with some 78% of Brits and 74% of Americans disagreeing with the statement either strongly or slightly. In contrast, around half of Taiwanese and Turkish respondents agree that the general public does have control over such developments.

"The benefits from genetic developments will outweigh the risks"
Just over half of those interviewed in all but one country (the UK) believe that the benefits from genetic developments will outweigh the risks. The British are the most sceptical with 36% disagreeing. Around a third of respondents in Taiwan, Mexico and Brazil also disagree.

"Genetic science will be a major factor in deciding every aspect of the human race"
A majority of respondents in Brazil (67%), Taiwan (62%), Mexico (62%), Poland (59%) and Denmark (54%) agree that genetic science will be a major factor in deciding every aspect of the future of the human race. Perhaps surprisingly, the Americans and British are not so easily convinced, with only 40% in the US and 46% in the UK in agreement with the statement.

"New genetic developments will bring cures for most diseases"
Public opinion is overwhelmingly in agreement that new genetic developments will bring cures for most diseases, particularly in Taiwan (88%), Brazil (87%), Mexico (84%) and Denmark (82%). In the UK (only 63% agreement) and the USA (69% agreement) there is a greater degree of scepticism, however there is still only a minority who disagree.

"With all this genetic experimentation nature may take its revenge in some kind of way"
The Taiwanese are the most fearful that nature may somehow take revenge for all the genetic experimentation that is taking place, with some 80% of respondents agreeing with the statement (strongly or slightly). The Taiwanese are closely followed by the Poles (73% agreement).

The Danes and Americans are the least worried about nature taking revenge (only around half of respondents agreeing), although it should be noted that respondents in all countries are more inclined to agree than to disagree. In the UK, some two-thirds (67%) of respondents agree, and only a quarter (23%) disagrees.

"Messing with the basic building blocks in our bodies, the DNA, is playing God"
The countries surveyed can be grouped into three categories.

Firstly, those who tend to agree that 'messing' with DNA is tantamount to 'playing God'. The Brazilians (58% agreeing with the statement) and British (57% agreement) fall into this group.

The second group consists of those countries where opinion is more or less equally divided between those who believe genetic science is 'playing God', and those who do not. The USA, Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey and Poland all fall into this category.

The Danes stand alone among the surveyed nationalities in that a majority of them (59%) disagree with the statement.

"Do you think that the rules & regulations governing genetic developments and research are lagging behind the pace of developments, or are not too far behind or are keeping pace?"
UK respondents demonstrate the greatest level of concern that the rules and regulations are 'lagging far behind the pace of developments', with almost half (46%) giving this response. Significant proportions of Polish (44%) and American (38%) respondents also hold this view.

On the other hand, almost half of Mexicans (48%) and Brazilians (45%) are confident that the rules and regulations are keeping pace with developments, whereas the Danes tend to be more likely to think that the rules and regulations 'are not too far behind'.

Genetics and family issues

"You are aware of your own genetic family history"
Over six in ten Americans (63%), Taiwanese (62%) and Poles (62%) agree that they are aware of their family's genetic history. In contrast, the Danes and Brazilians are more inclined to disagree (62% of Danes and 55% of Brazilians disagreeing slightly or strongly). The UK is somewhere in between, with 54% of respondents agreeing, and 41% disagreeing with the statement.

"If there was a history of a genetic disease in your family, you would choose to be tested for it"
The vast majority of people in all countries agree that they would choose to be tested for a possible genetic disease, most of them agreeing strongly. The highest level of overall agreement is among the Taiwanese (92%). Even in Denmark, which has the lowest proportion agreeing, the figure is a resounding 79%. Some 84% of British respondents concur with the statement.

"If you found you or your partner were carrying a serious hereditary disease that could be passed onto your children, you would consider never having children"
Respondents in all the countries surveyed display a tendency to agree that they would consider never having children if they discovered they or their partner were carrying a serious hereditary disease. Agreement is highest among the Taiwanese (84%), followed by the Mexicans and British (both 81%). The lowest level of agreement is among the Polish (68%), although this still easily outweighs the one in five respondents.

"Parents should have the right to screen out embryos that are found to be carrying an hereditary disease, so that only those free from the condition are allowed to be born"
Some three-quarters of Turks (80%), Poles (77%) and Taiwanese (73%) would welcome having the right to screen out embryos that are found to be carrying an hereditary disease. The Americans are least keen on parents being given this option, with only 42% of them agreeing and some 44% disagreeing, most of them strongly. British respondents tend to agree with the statement (55% agree compared with 33% who disagree).

"Parents should be allowed to select an embryo in order to help cure a sibling of a serious disease"
A significant proportion of people interviewed in Brazil (90%), Taiwan (84%), Poland (78%), Mexico (66%) and Denmark (62%) support this proposition. While the results are still quite high in terms of agreeing, the US and UK are the least likely nations to endorse such decision making by parents (48% & 54% respectively).

"Parents should be allowed to use gene technology to 'design' a baby to satisfy their personal, cultural or aesthetic desires"
More than three quarters of those interviewed in Denmark (96%), the UK (92%), US (87%), Brazil (82%) and Mexico (76%) do not agree with the concept of 'designer babies', with an overwhelming majority strongly disagreeing in Denmark (92%).

"Gene technology should only be used for purely medical conditions - those that threaten life, or quality of life"
Between eight and nine in ten respondents in all the nations surveyed agree that gene technology should only be used to treat purely medical conditions. For some people, noticeably Poland and Taiwan, this contradicts their views about allowing 'designer babies'. Overall, the UK appears to have taken a higher moral ground than the other countries surveyed, with 90% agreeing (71% agreeing strongly).

The point at which an embryo is considered to be a human being
Overall, across all eight countries surveyed, the most commonly held view is to consider that a human being is created at the point of conception/fertilisation between the egg and the sperm. Over half of respondents in Poland (62%), Brazil (59%), Mexico (56%) and the USA (55%) believe this to be the case, and there is also a tendency towards this view, albeit to a lesser extent, in Taiwan (43%) and the UK (42%).

In contrast, only 21% of Turks and 28% of Danes believe that a human being is created at the point of conception: in Turkey people are more likely to think an embryo becomes a human being after a month of pregnancy (35%), while in Denmark it is more widely held to be after 3 months (29%). Taiwanese respondents are more likely than those in any other country to think a human being only comes into existence after birth (some 18% hold this view).

Whether agree or disagree that research using human stem cells which are extracted from embryos, resulting in their destruction, should be banned.
Brazilian and Turkish respondents are the most likely to agree with the statement, with two-thirds of respondents in both countries agreeing (66% and 65% respectively). Mexican and American respondents tend to take the opposite view, with fewer than four in ten of them agreeing, and 53% of Mexicans, and 45% of Americans, disagreeing. Britons tend to agree (51%) although a third disagree that this practice should be banned.
Gene testing

"You would want to know if you had a serious genetic illness, even if there was no immediate prospect of a cure"
In the US, UK, Taiwan and Brazil, around three-quarters of respondents would prefer to know if they were carrying a serious genetic illness. However, in Denmark and Poland, while a majority would prefer to know, a significant minority (39% in both countries) say they would prefer not to know.

"Your genetic information should only be available to you through someone able to explain its significance to you, like your doctor"
Nearly everyone interviewed believes that their genetic information should only be available to them via an expert in such matters, particularly in the UK (97%) and Mexico (96%) although at least nine in ten respondents in all countries agree with the statement.

"Predictive genetic tests which could identify defective genes should be available to buy over the counter"
A clear majority of respondents in Denmark (92%), Brazil (84%), the UK (76%), Mexico (73%) and the USA (66%) disagree with the idea of predictive genetic tests being available to buy over the counter. Taiwanese respondents are almost as likely to agree (47%) as they are to disagree (50%). The most startling result comes from Poland, where in sharp contrast to the other countries surveyed, some two-thirds (67%) are in favour of predictive genetic tests being on sale over the counter.

"You would reveal the results of a test you had taken to other members of the family who may also carry the same faulty gene"
Americans would be the most likely to reveal the results of a test revealing they carried a faulty gene to other family members, with some 87% agreeing with the statement. More than 8 in 10 Brazilians, Poles and Brits also agree.
In contrast, a quarter of Taiwanese and Mexican respondents disagree with the statement, with the level of agreement falling to around 7 in 10.

"If you found out you were carrying a defective gene that might cause an illness such as diabetes in the future, you would take preventative measures now, such as improving your diet"
Unsurprisingly, nearly all of those interviewed claim that they will take preventative measures against illness should it be known to them that they are carrying a defective gene. Relatively speaking, most health conscious are the Mexicans and Brazilians (99%) and to a lesser extent are the Danes and Poles (93%). In the UK the agreement figure is 97%.

"If it was discovered that you were carrying a gene that made you susceptible to breast cancer, you would consider a mastectomy, even though there was always a chance that the cancer might not occur"
In most countries, women tend to disagree that they would consider a mastectomy under such circumstances, with the greatest proportions disagreeing in the USA (62%) and Brazil (57%). There is also a tendency to disagree in the UK (49% compared with 37% who agree). Mexican women stand out from the others on this issue in that some 70% of them would consider a mastectomy to remove the gene.

"Insurance companies should have access to the results of genetic tests you may already have taken"
It is generally felt that insurance companies should not have access to the results of genetic tests that people may have taken, with the highest level of disagreement among Danish respondents (83%), followed by the Americans (78%) and British (68%). Again, Mexicans tend to hold contrary views, with some 57% agreeing with the statement compared with only 37% who disagree.

"Human genetic information should be used for setting life insurance premiums"
Unsurprisingly, a majority of respondents in all countries surveyed oppose the suggestion that human genetic information should be used for setting life insurance premiums, with respondents in the USA (89%) and Denmark (87%) disagreeing most emphatically. The proposition has most support in Mexico (42% agreement).

If you were ill, would you be willing to receive gene therapy; that is to have treatment that alters and replaces your genes?
Overall, people do not reject the idea of receiving gene therapy if the need were to arise; although most would consider the treatment only if they had a life-threatening disease. There are some national variations: Poles are most likely to say "yes - but only if the disease was life threatening" (71%), while Brazilians are significantly more likely than those in other countries to answer "yes - for any medical condition" (34%).

Fewer than a quarter of respondents in all countries would reject gene therapy under any circumstances.

If you were being treated with an experimental treatment like gene therapy and you found out that people had died from the treatment, would you continue?
When posed with this dilemma, the Taiwanese would be most likely to persist with the treatment (39%), compared with only 14% of Danes and 16% of Britons and Americans.
Significant proportions of those interviewed in Mexico (60%) and Brazil (47%) would not continue to receive gene therapy.
About half of those interviewed in the US, UK and Denmark are unsure (58%, 53% and 52% respectively).
Genetically modified food

"You are willing to eat GM food"
A majority of respondents in all countries except the USA and Taiwan disagree with the statement, i.e. they are not willing to eat GM food. A staggering 96% of Turkish respondents disagree with the statement, 95% of them 'strongly' as opposed to 'slightly', and around 6 in 10 also disagree in Poland, Brazil and Denmark.

The USA is the only country in which the percentage of people willing to eat GM food (52%) outweighs the percentage that is unwilling (37%). In Taiwan, equal proportions agree and disagree (44% each). In the UK, while half the respondents disagree, a significant minority (41%) say they are willing to eat GM food.

"It is acceptable to send GM food to countries where the population is starving because of famine"
Around two-thirds of survey respondents in the USA (70%), Mexico (64%), Taiwan (63%) and the UK (63%) agree that it is acceptable to send GM food to countries where the population is starving because of famine, and over half of respondents in Brazil, Poland and Denmark also agree. However, the Turks overwhelmingly feel it is unacceptable to combat famine in this way, with three quarters (75%) of them disagreeing with the statement (72% of them strongly).

"Crops such as corn should be genetically modified to produce pharmaceutical products such as vaccines and contraceptives, if this makes the drugs cheaper in the future"
The proportion agreeing with the statement outweighs those who disagree in all the countries surveyed, with the highest levels of agreement in Mexico (81%), Brazil (80%), the USA (75%) and Taiwan (72%). The highest percentage to disagree is in Denmark (41%), and above-average proportions of respondents in Turkey (37%) and the UK (33%) also disagree.

Which of the following best describes how you would feel if you discovered that you had eaten genetically modified food without knowing it to be so?
Overall, results show that around half of those interviewed would be either 'a bit' or 'very' alarmed if they found they had eaten GM food without knowing it to be so, with the remainder not overly concerned. The Mexicans appear to be the most fearful with 63% saying they would be alarmed (compared to only 39% among the Taiwanese). It is worth noting nonetheless, that 1 in 5 Americans interviewed would be very alarmed if they were to hear such news.

Imagining you needed a heart transplant, if the choice were available between a man-made artificial heart or a pig heart for transplantation, which would you choose?
The most common choice in all countries surveyed would be a man-made artificial heart, with the proportion choosing this option ranging from 43% in Denmark to 75% in Turkey. Relatively low percentages of respondents would opt for a pig heart, although this idea finds more favour than the survey average in Denmark (23%) and the USA (20%).

Faced with such a difficult problem, it is not surprising that overall, around a quarter of respondents answer either 'neither' or 'don't know'.

Organ transplants

"If you need a transplanted organ (such as a heart or liver) you would accept one that had come from an animal, such as a pig, if that was the only option"
Respondents in all countries surveyed would be inclined to accept a transplanted organ from an animal such as a pig, if they had no other choice, with the greatest levels of agreement in Denmark (79%) and the UK (74%). The Mexicans would be more reluctant, with only around six in ten agreeing (59%) and a sizeable minority (36%) disagreeing.

"If you your life was in danger you would accept a transplanted organ from an animal if you knew there was a small risk that a deadly virus could be passed from the animal to you"
In the UK, Denmark, USA and Mexico, responses are divided fairly equally between 'agree' and 'disagree' (45% each in the UK). Turkish and Taiwanese respondents tend to agree (58% and 52% respectively), while Brazilian and Polish respondents are more inclined to disagree (63% and 49% respectively).

Cloning and its uses

"If you would clone a member of your family when they died, you would"
Few of the people interviewed are interested in the possibility of cloning a member of their family, and the high proportions strongly disagreeing with the statement suggests that many people find the idea abhorrent. Opposition to this use of cloning is greatest in Denmark (97%), the UK (93%) and the USA (88%).

The prospect of cloning a family member does have some limited support, most notably in Turkey, where some 29% of respondents agree with the statement.

"If you would your pet when they died, you would"
On the whole, people also feel strongly that they would not be interested in cloning a pet, with about 9 out 10 people disagreeing - highest in Denmark (97%) and the UK (95%). The proportions interested in the idea are greatest in Mexico (19%), Poland (18%) and Taiwan (16%).

"Governments should ban cloning of humans"
The Danes would strongly favour government intervention to outlaw human cloning, with 85% agreeing, followed by those interviewed in the UK and Taiwan (79%). There is more of a laissez-faire attitude in Mexico and Turkey with only just more than half the sample agreeing. Looking at the results from the US, some form of control appears to be desirable (70% agreeing and 22% disagreeing).

"There should be one licensed laboratory in the world that could start human cloning trials under strict international supervision"
Respondents in the UK (68%), Denmark (67%) and the USA (64%) all tend to oppose this idea, whereas, in contrast, over half of those interviewed in Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey and Brazil agree. Opinions in Poland are more or less equally divided.

Cloning another human being can give childless couples the option of having a son or daughter even if they are completely infertile. Would you clone yourself if the option was available to you?
At least 2 out of 3 people would not favour this, with an overwhelming majority in Denmark (90%), the UK (87%), the US (85%) and Brazil (80%). The proportions answering 'yes' are higher than average in Mexico (31%) and Poland (26%).

Do you believe/think that a human will be successfully cloned somewhere in the world?
Given recent media coverage of claims made about human cloning, it is perhaps not surprising that the most common answer to this question is that "it has already happened somewhere in secret", with the proportions giving this response particularly high in Taiwan (55%) and Mexico (47%).

For those who believe cloning will happen in the future, the next five years seems to be regarded as the most realistic time-frame in which the development will take place, particularly in the UK (41%) and USA (34%). Those interviewed in Denmark tend to think human cloning might take place further in the future, with a fifth (19%) answering "within a hundred years".

Overall, relatively low proportions feel that human cloning will never happen, with the exception of Brazil, where 3 in 10 respondents believe a human being will never be cloned.