only enough for two days. "I am really worried. My son's life is at risk," said Afsaneh, his mother. In addition to nose bleeds that could be life threatening, there is the possibility that the child could lose the use of his right leg. That would make the sanctions imposed by the United States and allied governments, in Romney's word, truly "crippling." "This is a blatant hostage-taking of the most vulnerable people by countries which claim they care about human rights," said Ahmad Ghavidel, head of the Iranian Hemophilia Society, which assists about 8,000 patients. One young man in southern Iran died after an accident when the blood-clotting injection he needed was not available, Ghavidel told the Post . "Even a few days of delay can have serious consequences like hemorrhage and disability," he said. Government officials in Tehran have said international sanctions have had little impact on the country, claiming 97 percent of Iran's medicine is produced domestically. But while the volume of medical imports affected by the embargo may be small as a percentage, health experts say they are having a significant effect on medicines needed for chronic diseases for which there are no effective domestic remedies. And even those medicines that are produced domestically are dependent on imports for the materials used in their manufacture. A d v e r t i s e m e n t Exemptions in Theory While the sale to Iran of most goods is banned outright under the terms of the