We report our experience with deferiprone (L1) (DFP) in 17 thalassemic patients, followed up in one center in Lebanon, who were initially on desferrioxamine and then shifted to DFP at a dose of 50-75 mg/kg/day as the sole chelator during 1-year follow-up. All 17 patients were compliant with therapy and there was no change in physical examination over the study period. Eight patients (47.1%) were positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies. Urinary iron excretion was 21.8 +/- 14 mg/24 h (mean +/- SD) 1 week after starting DFP and dropped 12 months later to 13 +/- 7.4 mg/24 h (p = 0.009, paired t test). The initial serum ferritin level was 3,863 +/- 2,344 microg/l which dropped to 3,179 +/- 2,075 at 12 months after starting therapy (p = 0.07). HCV-negative patients as a group exhibited a significant decrease in serum ferritin after 6 and 12 months of DFP therapy (3,942 +/- 2,739 vs. 2,341 +/- 1,179 and 2,681 +/- 1,519 microg/l; p < 0.03 and p < 0.05, respectively). The most frequent side effects were joint pain, stiffness or swelling in 6 patients (35.3%), and nausea in 7 patients (41.2%), but these were well tolerated and did not require stopping treatment.