A delicate balance: negotiating renal transplantation, immunosuppression and adherence to medical regimen

Peta S. Cook (1) , Alexandra Mccarthy (2)

1 QUT - Queensland University of Technology [Brisbane]
2 Griffith University [Brisbane]

Despite the volume of biomedical and psychosocial discourse surrounding both renal transplantation and the immune system, there is a limit to current understandings of immunosuppression in the context of kidney transplantation. For example, we do not know how the immunosuppressed renal transplant recipient experiences and understands their immune system and body. In addition, we do not know if the patient is as fixated on `graft survival' as their healthcare team or whether other concerns are more relevant. What is missing is the discourse of those who actually `live' the medically altered immune system in the context of renal transplantation.

Mots clés: transplantation; compliance; embodiment; immunosuppression; renal; transplantation.

Peta S. Cook, Alexandra Mccarthy. A delicate balance: negotiating renal transplantation, immunosuppression and adherence to medical regimen. Health, 2007, 11 (4), pp.497-512. ⟨10.1177/1363459307080875⟩. ⟨hal-00571439⟩