Iran Hemophilia Society to file lawsuit against French company over contaminated blood products

By Haydar Sahin

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - The Iran Hemophilia Society announced Wednesday that it will file a lawsuit against a French company to seek justice for Iranian hemophilia patients who contracted AIDS through its contaminated blood products.

The society’s chief executive officer, Nazanin Farzadifar, speaking to Anadolu at a meeting in the capital Tehran to discuss the process for filing the lawsuit, said that for the first time, a lawsuit would be filed to address the rights of the patients, who were infected after receiving contaminated plasma sent from France 40 years ago.

Farzadifar said the French company shipped the plasma to Iran between 1982-1984.

She said that during the Iran-Iraq war, the country had to import drugs and there were no adequate conditions for testing blood products.

- First victim 7-year-old child

Noting that the first victim of the contaminated plasma was a 7-year-old, Farzadifar said the child contracted AIDS and died two years later.

She said the child and their family, who were not sufficiently informed about AIDS, were ostracized by society and experienced great trauma.

Saying that the French state and the company sending the infected plasma owe an apology to the affected families, she emphasized the need for both financial and moral compensation.

Farzadifar mentioned that in a similar case caused by the company, 198 Iraqi patients were paid a total of $600 million in compensation, and a few years ago, the company sent a letter to Iran expressing its readiness to pay compensation.

- 'France responsible for AIDS patients in Iran'

Farzadifar said the Iran Hemophilia Society would file a criminal complaint first domestically and then at the international level on World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

Reminding that the company admitted that the plasma was infected, she emphasized that France is responsible for more than 54,000 people in Iran contracting AIDS.

She said that due to the late admission, necessary precautions could not be taken, resulting in more people contracting the disease.

- Iran cannot import drugs due to sanctions

Ferzadifer said her society cannot import drugs due to the sanctions imposed on Iran and those who can bring drugs into the country try to sell a $60 drug to the state for $200.

She said a drug that could be bought for $60 from Türkiye could fetch a maximum price of $80 before it reaches the patient, but someone tries to take advantage of it and sell it for an exorbitant price.

Although the drug is not subject to sanctions, Ferzadifer noted that companies are reluctant to send drugs due to fear of being sanctioned or not being able to collect payment due to the sanctions.

- Difficulty finding medication

Patient Abulfazl Hatiri said he suffers from a rare type of hemophilia and his blood constantly coagulates.

Saying that he walks around with serum 24 hours a day to continue his life, Hatiri said he has difficulty finding imported drugs, so he uses local ones.

Emphasizing that local drugs do not provide sufficient benefit and are very expensive, he said his drugs are not covered by insurance.

Hatiri expressed the challenges he faces, pointing out the difficulties of both finding and covering the cost of the drug.

Another hemophilia patient, Mohammad Ali Suleimanpur, said he has lived with this disease for as long as he can remember.

Suleimanpur said the drug shortage in Iran has caused patients like him to suffer, noting that they struggle with the disease on one hand and face difficulties in obtaining drugs on the other.

He highlighted the challenges they face, saying that the low quality of local drugs adds another problem to their troubles.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul