Liver Transplant News and Biases: A Ten-Year Review of Turkish Media

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.7 Issue.2

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.25.2.10

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

Liver Transplant News and Biases: A Ten-Year Review of Turkish Media

Karaciğer Nakli Haberleri ve Önyargılar: Türk Basınında On Yıllık Bir İnceleme

Ceren Yegen¹, Ahmet Faruk Çeçen², Volkan İnce³

Abstract:

Liver transplantation faces challenges arising from low public awareness, leading to shortages in organ donations and failure to meet patient needs. This study explores the dynamics between coverage within Turkey’s traditional print media and the rates of liver transplantation, specifically analyzing news from the Sabah, Hürriyet, and Sözcü newspapers over ten years. This analysis aims to assess how print media coverage influences the public understanding and frequency of liver transplants, extending beyond the mere volume of articles and considering how these stories are presented. The study also evaluates the existence of a media bias in favor of living donor stories over those of deceased donors, which may shape public attitudes and behaviors regarding organ donation. This bias is evident in the limited coverage of deceased organ donors, highlighting a gap in public awareness and understanding. Based on an analysis of 280 articles, a significant link is shown between the extent of news coverage and the number of liver transplants, indicating the media’s substantial impact on transplantation activities. Moreover, a correlation is identified between the limited coverage of deceased organ donors and the broader issue of limited public awareness in Turkey, reflecting the comparative lack of media focus on postmortem donations.

Keywords: Liver transplantation, health journalism, social awareness, organ donation, Turkish print press.

¹Assoc. Prof., Mersin University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism, Mersin, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0000-0001-9582-0711

²Assoc. Prof., Ankara Social Sciences University, Faculty of Communication, Department of New Media and Communication, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0000-0003-3561-2915

³Prof. Dr., İnönü University, Faculty of Medicine, Surgical Medical Sciences, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0000-0002-0714-490X

Address of Correpondence/Yazışma Adresi: Ahmet Faruk Çeçen, Social Sciences University, Faculty of Communication, Department of New Media and Communication, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0000-0003-3561-2915

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 03.01.2025, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 20.05.2025, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 02.06.2025, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 05.06.2025

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Yegen, C., Çeçen, A. F. & İnce, V. (2025). Liver Transplant News and Biases: A Ten-Year Review of Turkish Media. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 7(2), 194-201.

© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/