Pumping iron: compliance with chelation therapy among young people who have thalassaemia major

Compliance with medical regimens is not simply a technical or practical tas k but part of the everyday experience of living with a chronic illness. Any discussion of compliance must, therefore, begin from the individual's pers onal and social context. This paper explores how young people who have thal assaemia major respond to their daily chelation therapy. It suggests that c ompliance dominates the young person's narratives and represents the most d isruptive aspect of their illness. More specifically, compliance evokes bot h practical and emotional difficulties as the young person tries to make se nse of the relationship between body, self and illness. Within this dynamic process the young person has to reconcile the consequences of non-complian ce within the broader experience and responsibilities of 'growing-up' and m aintaining a positive self-identity.