Media coverage of liver transplant events promotes donations from the deceased.

Deceased-donor liver transplantation (DDLT) is an effective life-saving treatment for liver failure and small unresectable hepatocellular carcinomas, but is hindered by the limited supply of liver grafts, particularly in Asia.1 Living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has emerged swiftly as the alternative.2 Technical breakthroughs in liver transplantation are often widely covered by the mass media. Samaritan acts of altruistic strangers as living liver donors as well as liver transplant candidates desperately appealing for grafts are reported. However, the influence of such media coverage on the rate of deceased-donor organ donation (DDOD) has not been studied.