An estimated 23,000 Iranians with HIV/AIDS had extremely limited access to the medications they require. The organization representing the 8,000 Iranians with thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder, reported that its members were starting to die given the lack of an essential medicine, deferoxamine, needed to regulate the iron content of the blood. In addition, Iran was unable to purchase medical equipment such as autoclaves, which are required for the creation of numerous medications, since some of the largest Western pharmaceutical corporations declined to carry out business with the country.[1]