The World Hemophilia Day
2015 is observed by the World Federation of Hemophilia on April 17 every year
since 1989. The theme for this year's event is "Building a Family of Support".
The World Federation of
Hemophilia aims to increase awareness about hemophilia
and other bleeding disorders and aims
to provide treatment to all those suffering from the condition. Increasing
awareness and availability of treatment, will help close the gap between those
untreated and treated.
People with inherited
bleeding disorders need constant medical support and care. They require regular
transfusion of the deficient clotting factor to prevent bleeding episodes. Besides, they also require financial and
moral support to undergo the regular treatments. This support is not only provided by their immediate family but
also by friends, colleagues at work and medical teams around them.
The World Hemophilia Day
2015 celebrates the contribution of these individuals to the care of
hemophiliac patients. It encourages patients to talk about their support
systems on its website in order to acknowledge this selfless contribution.
What is Hemophilia?
a bleeding disorder
that can cause
uncontrolled bleeding. In a normal individual, blood within the heart and the
blood vessels is in a fluid state. A break in the blood vessels releases blood
from the blood stream triggering a clotting response, which attempts to plug
the blood flow. The main components of this response are the platelets and the
proteins called clotting factors. A defect in any of these components could
result in a failure to form a plug and result in excessive bleeding.
Types of Hemophilia
of two main types: Hemophilia A is characterized by a decrease in clotting
factor VIII, while hemophilia B is characterized by a decrease in clotting
factor IX. The patient experiences frequent bleeds even with minor trauma. In
addition, internal bleeds into organs, muscles and joints only worsen the
condition of the patient.
Incidence of Hemophilia
a common condition, yet a number of people do not know that they are suffering
from the condition. An estimated 6.9 million people suffer from bleeding disorders
which includes hemophilia, yet only 25% individuals are aware that they suffer
from the condition. This may be due to the fact that some people suffer from a
less severe form of the condition. Hemophilia per se
affects around 1 in every 10,000 individuals.
Since it is a hereditary disorder, it is likely that more than one
member of the same family is affected. The defective gene is carried on the X
chromosome - men, more commonly, manifest the condition, while females carry
the defective gene but do not manifest the disease.