Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia

World Hemophilia Day 2015

by Dr. Simi Paknikar on Apr 16 2015 4:53 PM
Listen to this article
0:00/0:00

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?

Hemophilia is 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

Hemophilia is 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

Hemophilia is 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.

Advertisement
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.

Source-Medindia


Poll

Can Hemophilia be Cured?

Advertisement