Iran’s EB Home files lawsuit against Swedish medical company

Saman Kojouri
Press TV, Tehran

Iran’s EB Home and several lawyers have filed a complaint against Mölnlycke Health Care, a Swedish medical device company, over its refusal to sell medical products to Tehran under US pressures.

Epidermolysis Bullosa patients in Iran filed a lawsuit against the Swedish medical device company, Mölnlycke Health Care, in Sweden’s National Contact Point for its unlawful compliance with US sanctions refusing to sell medical care items to Iranian EB patients.

Molnlycke Health Care refused to sell Iranian EB patients medical care items they needed, including Mepilex dressings. Several children in Iran who suffered from Epidermolysis Bullosa lost their lives due to the lack of urgently needed medical equipment and some others were hurt by severe physical injuries, including amputation.

Many human rights groups have criticized the US for cutting off banking ties with Iran through threatening the international banks with punitive fines by the US Department of Treasury which has resulted in cutting Iranian patients' access to necessary medical items.

The move has deprived EB patients – also known as butterfly patients- of essential medical items, killed many of them, especially children, and inflicted serious physical injuries such as amputation to some of the patients.

The complaint seeks to protect the victims of the flagrant violation of human rights committed by the Swedish company and prevent similar criminal measures.

Nearly 30 Iranian EB patients – mostly children – have died since Mölnlycke stopped selling its dressings to Iran, saying that for EB survivors, the pain has increased by 70 percent.

Iranian officials have repeatedly blasted the US for imposing sanctions against the country, stressing that these inhumane sanctions have intensified sufferings of kids with no access to special medicines for incurable diseases.

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