Based on the survey, it can be concluded that the public knowledge of organ transplantation and immunosuppression is still limited. Thus, in the first stage, the goal of communication and education activities is to give a brief introduction to organ transplantation and immunosuppression. As the audience familiarizes these concepts, the following activities in the second stage are designed to promote the biotechnology our group applies and the final products our group will develop.
The focus audience of the communication and education activities are patients with diseases that require organ transplantation as well as their relatives. Thus, the activities would be promoted in various healthcare communities and social support groups. Due to the pandemic, the activities are mainly conducted online.
A science polarization activity was conducted on July 8th in the format of an online lecture. The online lecture consisted of five parts. First, we explained the concepts of organ transplantation and the difficulties in organ transplantation surgery, emphasizing the urgent need for more user-friendly and affordable immunosuppressive drugs. Then, we used a short animation video to demonstrate the process of organ transplantation and immunosuppression to show some real-life cases so that the audience can resonate with the patients.
Slide about organ transplantation in the online lecture
Animation video in the online lecture
Following the introduction of organ transplantation and immunosuppression, our team illustrated the purpose, process, and outcome of our experiments on producing Rapamycin, the main ingredient of anti-rejection drugs. The prototype of our product is also demonstrated to the audience. To make the activity more intriguing, some pop-up quiz games with rewards were also conducted, which were actively participated by the audience. In general, the online science popularization activity was successful and the feedback from the audience was very positive.
Slide about our experimental solution in the online lecture
After the concept of organ transplantation was clarified, a viewing activity of a Ted Talk was held online. The main content of this Ted Talk is related to the breakthrough of organ transplantation through gene editing made by geneticist Yang Luhan, which shared some similarities with our project background. The main purpose of this Ted Talk viewing meeting was to enable the audience to further understand the significance of gene editing in organ transplantation, suggesting the importance of our work. In order to invite more audience to join this viewing activity, we designed and launched an invitation poster on WeChat.
Invitation poster to promote the Ted Talk viewing activity
As also shown in the Ted Talk, scientists have tried to transplant animal organs into human bodies for decades. If the technology breakthrough can be achieved, tens of thousands of people who need organ transplantation can be saved. However, the risk of organ transplantation is high, mainly because retrovirus (PERV), which is beneficial to pigs but harmful to humans, will be transferred from pigs to humans through transplantation. It may lead to a virus pandemic similar to AIDS. Yang Luhan's team mainly used CRISPR gene editing technology to create a pig Lycra without the virus, and then opened a new era of cultivating organs in animals for transplantation.
Snapshot of Ted Talk viewing activity
Aside from the online activities, a number of communication and education materials in various forms were distributed in case some of the audience could not participate in the online events due to time restraints. In addition, considering that the activities could not fully demonstrate every aspect of the project our team conducted, the communication and education materials were essential as supporting documents for the online activities.
Thus, an official account, Rapa OT, was established on WeChat in this July, the most commonly used social platform in China. The account aimed to distribute information on organ transplantation, immunosuppression, and biotechnology related to our project which were consistent with the materials we applied in online activities. The content of the articles published on this account also contained vital information about our project in terms of the theoretical frameworks, methodologies, experiments, and other details so that the audience could have a better understanding of our project. Several articles were posted with a considerable viewing rate. In addition, the fundraising activity was also promoted and conducted through this account.
Snapshots of WeChat posts
Aside from textual materials distributed on WeChat accounts, we also produced a Chinese song and comics regarding organ transplantation as visual and audit stimulations that could attract additional viewership. The lyrics of the song described the suffering and hope of patients who underwent organ transplantation surgery, which could make the audience resonate with the patient and arise further public discussion with social concerns on this issue. The comic, on the other hand, illustrated how immunosuppressive drugs function in the human body that is counterpart to the complication of organ transplantation.
Pictures of comics
Song lyrics
Generally, the communication and education activities, as well as materials, are successful for they reach a considerable amount of audience, which is still increasing as a growing number of people are aware of the social impact of organ transplantation and our project. In view of the pandemic situation, social distancing policies, and lockdown regulations, we have no choice but to conduct communication and education campaigns online. In the future, offline education activities in schools, booklet distribution, and lectures in apartment communities can be implemented as parts of communication and education activities.
