Psychiatric assessment in transplantation

The implementation of the presumptive donor law in Brazil is expected to in crease the availability of organs for transplantation. As medical managemen t of end-stage organ dysfunction continues to improve, increasing numbers o f potential transplant recipients will be available to meet this supply. Th ere is mounting evidence that supports the involvement of skilled psychiatr ic practitioners in the selection of transplant candidates. Data supporting the influence of psychosocial factors on compliance and therefore medical outcomes continues to grow. The literature review allows delineating the co mponents and rationale for comprehensive psychosocial evaluations as a comp onent of preoperative transplantation evaluation.