Public‐Facing Media Characterizations of Contemporary First‐in‐Human Xenotransplants in the United States: A Qualitative Content Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Media messaging offers insight into the informational context that may shape the public's acceptance of xenotransplantation (XTx). The purpose of this study was to characterize the media's portrayal of the initiation of contemporary in-human XTx and assess both the accuracy and the ethical valence of XTx messaging. METHODS: This study employed a summative qualitative content analysis of online print media coverage of the first contemporary experimental pig-to-human transplants in the United States. A comprehensive search of the 50 most-trafficked online news sources in the US was conducted for print articles pertaining to XTx published between July 13, 2021 and July 13, 2022. All articles in the sample were coded using qualitative data analysis software. Using a combined deductive and inductive approach to analysis, codes were grouped into topical categories representing patterns of meaning and subsequently interpreted into overarching themes. RESULTS: The search yielded 208 unique print-based articles. The top five most prevalent codes were "genetically modified," "reference to animal organ," "XTx rejection possibility," "novelty of the procedure," and "XTx as a 'success'/extending life." Code patterns were interpreted into the following overarching themes: (1) value judgments about XTx, (2) justifications for XTx, and (3) emphasis on technical details. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that media reporting on XTx during this time period frequently employed incomplete and hyperbolic narratives to support and justify XTx. As the field of XTx evolves with the initiation of human clinical trials, efforts to communicate accurate, balanced information to the general public should be prioritized.