Psychiatric considerations in the patient receiving organ transplantation: a clinical case conference

Psychiatric consultations to evaluate a patient's suitability to receive organ transplantation can require the integration of multiple types and sources of information. A patient's social support network, history of treatment compliance, ongoing Axis I and Axis II disorders, and understanding of the procedure and follow-up required must all be evaluated during such a consultation. This article presents the case of a woman with borderline personality disorder who developed hepatic failure following a drug overdose, and discusses her evaluation for liver transplantation. The discussion frames the pertinent issues in the transplant evaluation and describes the perioperative (transplant) management of the borderline patient.