Media Ambivalence of Organ Donation: Between Solidarity and Fear

Focuses on how organ donation and transplantation are represented in Russian media in 2022-2024 (based on the online-publications in the seven leading periodicals: Komsomolskaya Pravda , TASS , RIA Novosti , Izvestia , Gazeta.ru , Interfax and Kommersant ). This content-analysis study aims to identify the specifics of how this type of donation is covered in media as well as at explicating the social factors that influence the development of transplant care in Russia nowadays. In total, from January 2022 to December 2024, there were identified 303 online publications on various types of donation (blood, organs and tissues, stem cells, germ cells etc.). The author selected 37 texts (12.2%) focused on organ donation and transplantation. The comparative analysis of genres and thematic accents highlighted some differences in the approaches of how these media cover the issues of organ donation and transplantation. As a result, some relatively contradictory trends were observed. On the one hand, some media resources, primarily Komsomolskaya Pravda , tend to promote this topic in order to create a positive image of organ donation. On the other hand, this and other news agencies mention the cases of illegal organ harvesting that might reinforce negative stereotypes and fears existing in Russian society related to “black” transplantation. Hence, an attempt has been made to explicate the issues and prejudices mentioned in the media through the concept of mortal transplant fears.