Department of Clinical pathology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Kasr Al-Aini Street, Fom Elkhalig square, Cairo, 11796, Egypt.
Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
BMC Med Ethics. 2019 Aug 9;20(1):57. doi: 10.1186/s12910-019-0394-6.
Biobanking is a relatively new concept in Egypt. Building a good relationship with different stakeholders is essential for the social sustainability of biobanks. To establish this relationship, it is necessary to assess the attitude of different groups towards this concept. The objective of this work is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and opinions of Egyptian patients towards biobanking issues.
We designed a structured survey to be administered to patients coming to the outpatient clinics in 3 university hospitals in Egypt. The survey included questions estimating the level of knowledge about the term "Biobank", together with questions about the attitudes and opinions about related issues.
Two hundred and fifty-nine patients participated in the survey. Eighty-one percent of participants reported that they never heard about the term before. About 85% expressed that they would be willing to donate their samples for research and about 87% thought that sample donation did not contradict their religious beliefs. Fifty eight percent were willing to participate in a genetic research project, 27.8% supported sharing their sample with pharmaceutical companies, and 32.4% agreed to share their samples with institutions abroad.
Although there is limited knowledge about biobanking among Egyptian patients, many had a positive attitude towards sample donation and didn't show religious concerns against it. However, they showed concerns regarding participation in genetic research and with sharing their samples across borders or with pharmaceutical companies. Public education about biobanking is possible, taking into consideration the specific cultural and legal framework in Egypt.
生物库在埃及是一个相对较新的概念。与不同利益相关者建立良好的关系对于生物库的社会可持续性至关重要。要建立这种关系，就必须评估不同群体对这一概念的态度。这项工作的目的是评估埃及患者对生物库问题的知识、态度和意见。
我们设计了一份结构化的调查问卷，在埃及的 3 所大学医院的门诊病人中进行调查。调查问卷包括估计患者对“生物库”一词的了解程度的问题，以及与相关问题的态度和意见的问题。
259 名患者参加了调查。81%的参与者表示他们以前从未听说过这个术语。约 85%的人表示愿意捐献样本进行研究，约 87%的人认为样本捐献不违背他们的宗教信仰。58%的人愿意参加基因研究项目，27.8%的人支持将样本与制药公司共享，32.4%的人同意将样本与国外机构共享。
尽管埃及患者对生物库的了解有限，但许多人对样本捐献持有积极的态度，并不表现出对其的宗教担忧。然而，他们对参与基因研究以及跨越国界或与制药公司共享样本表示担忧。在考虑埃及特定的文化和法律框架的情况下，可以对生物库进行公众教育。
