ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Genet.
Sec. ELSI in Science and Genetics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1606923
This article is part of the Research TopicNew perspectives and challenges in neural organoid researchView all articles
Japanese Attitudes Toward Cell Donation in Human Brain Organoid Research: Many Oppose Broad Consent
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
- 2Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Introduction: Under broad consent, donors are not informed about the specific research projects using their cells; . A concern is that this may lead to the use of cells in ways that conflict with donors' moral beliefs. In recent years, this issue has been raised in human brain organoid research. However, previous studies on the public's attitudes toward human brain organoid research have either overlooked cell donation or were small-scale qualitative studies. Methods: We conducted an online survey on Japanese citizens' attitudes toward cell donation for human brain organoid research, gathering 326 responses. Results:When informed that donated cells could generate human brain organoids, 36% of participants disapproved of broad consent, while 37% said their stance depended on the case. Reasons for opposition included the need for study-specific explanations, autonomous decision-making, emotional discomfort, research purpose, researcher and institutional trustworthiness, potential misuse, and risks and benefits to participants. Discussion: Although several limitations exist,, tThese findings may suggest that project-specific consent wouldmay be more ethically appropriate at the current stage of human brain organoid research. Since some public concerns stem from limited knowledge or misinformation, science communication could help to change this situation.
Keywords: Bioethics, Organoids, Informed Consent, Personal Autonomy, Public Opinion
Received: 08 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kataoka, Koike and Sawai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tsutomu Sawai, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
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