Shearman & Sterling associate Armelle Sandrin-Deforge is providing the international humanitarian organization Medécins Sans Frontières (MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders) with pro bono legal assistance. MSF delivers emergency medical aid to people affected by armed conflicts, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in more than 60 countries. The organization also invests more than €10 million per year in research.

Sandrin-Deforge is providing MSF with advice under international, EU and French law on what must be done to ensure legal compliance when creating medical databases for patient follow-up or medical research. She will also advise on any restrictions on the use of individuals’ medical data in research projects. This assistance will allow MSF to comply with data protection laws in various jurisdictions while ensuring that data for medical research can be used to the greatest extent possible.

"MSF is in a unique position to gather invaluable medical data from throughout the world, but we also have to consider that each and every patient is entitled to confidentiality with respect to personal data," explains Sandrin-Deforge. "It's a challenge and a privilege to be working with MSF on this project.”