Focuses on the role of psychiatrists in alleviating problems
associated with the acquisition of body parts for organ transplants.
Demands of the health care sector; How psychiatrists aid in preparing the
patient receiving or donating the organ; Details on the supply and demand
for hearts, lungs and livers.
By
PT Staff, published on July 01, 1998
HEALTH
Ever since organ transplants were first performed almost forty
years ago, transplantation psychiatrists have helped ease the ordeal of
getting new body parts. Today's health care climate is now demanding a
transplant of their expertise to other medical realms.
These psychiatrists deal with the psychological fallout of
imbalances in supply and demand for new hearts, lungs, and livers. Almost
all transplant centers in the country use some kind of psychosocial
assessment to select organ recipients. "They have an ethical
responsibility to use each organ optimally," says James Levenson, M.D.,
transplant psychiatrist at the Medical College of Virginia. He reports
that many transplant centers rule out people with schizophrenia,
dementia, personality disorders, drug addiction, or suicide risk.
Patients who neglect their medication or ignore their doctor's
instructions may also be excluded.
Unfortunately, difficult decisions of patient selection are no
longer confined to the transplant unit. As researchers develop highly
advanced and very expensive treatments that can be given to only a
few-especially under managed care--transplantation psychiatrists are now
being called upon to assist doctors in cardiology, oncology, AIDS
treatment, and other fields in which demand far outstrips
supply.--C.C.
ILLUSTRATION
Tags:
difficult decisions,
drug addiction,
healthcare,
levenson,
livers,
ordeal,
organ transplant,
organ transplants,
personality disorders,
physical health,
psychiatrists,
risk patients,
suicide risk,
treatment
