Table 3. Attitudes towards cryopreserved embryos and EDD-making according to the patients’ nationality.
| Belgian(N = 231) | Dutch(N = 95) | p-valueb | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % agreeinga | |||||
| Statement | N | % | N | % | |
| (Emotional) response towards the embryo or the decision-making process | |||||
| I find it difficult to choose a disposition for my embryos. | 121 | 53.3 | 38 | 40.9 | 0.049 |
| I rarely think about my embryos. | 67 | 29.9 | 20 | 22.0 | 0.167 |
| Value of the embryo | |||||
| An embryo that was transferred into the womb is more valuable than a cryopreserved embryo. | 92 | 40.7 | 24 | 26.4 | 0.020 |
| Medical and practical considerations | |||||
| I have confidence in the physicians and the laboratory staff who are involved in my treatment and the storage of my embryos. | 203 | 89.4 | 89 | 94.7 | 0.198 |
| I would have more worries about malformations in my child when cryopreserved embryos would be used for the treatment compared to fresh embryos. | 48 | 21.1 | 29 | 30.9 | 0.084 |
| The storage fee is important in my decision to continue storage. | 52 | 22.9 | 10 | 10.8 | 0.013 |
| Donation for science | |||||
| I do not know what scientific research with embryos is. | 148 | 65.5 | 48 | 52.2 | 0.031 |
| I do not know what stem cell research is. | 98 | 43.6 | 33 | 36.3 | 0.258 |
| People who donate embryos for science should have a say in the selection of the project in which they will be used. | 93 | 41.0 | 45 | 48.9 | 0.213 |
| Donation to others | |||||
| People who donate to others should have a say in the selection of the recipient couple. | 68 | 30.2 | 31 | 34.1 | 0.506 |
| A child born from embryo donation should not be able to trace the donors later. | 98 | 43.6 | 25 | 27.2 | 0.008 |
aCombines point one and two of the 5-point Likert scale: strongly or moderately agreeing.
bFishers’ Exact test: significance of difference of distribution of agreeing versus other patients according to their nationality.