Haemophilia & von Willebrand's Disease
Haemophilia, von Willebrand's and related bleeding disorders are conditions where the blood doesn't clot propertly.
Haemophilia is the most well-known bleeding disorder but is not as common as von Willebrand's which is believed to affect 1% of the population, many of whom don't realise they have it.
Around 24,000 people in the UK are registered as living with a bleeding disorder; 6,000 with haemophilia A; 1,000 with haemophilia B; 5,000 with von Willebrand's and the remained with rarer factor deficiencies and platelet disorders.
You can't 'catch' haemophilia or von Willebrand's from other people - they are inherited bleeding disorders.
Haemophilia affects mostly males, von Willebrand's affects men and women equally.
Internal bleeds into the joints, muscles and other tissues are the most erious problem for people with bleeding disorders - if left untreated they cause severe pain, arthritis, join damage and disability.
A small cut doesn't mean that a person with a bleeding disorder will bleed to death - it just takes longer to stop the bleeding.
Women who carry the haemophilia gene may have symptoms, such as heavy periods and complications with childbirth; as can women with von Willebrand's.
There is no cure for either haemophilia or von Willebrand's; with modern treatment both conditions can be managed allowing affected people to live their lives as normally as possible.
In the past many people with haemophilia were infected with hepatitis, some also with HIV, via contaminated blood products. From 1985, virus inactivation processes and later the use of recombinant (genetically engineered treatment) have eliminated these infections.
In the 1800s haemophilia affected many members of the royal families of England, Spain, Germany and Russia. Those affected were direct descendents of Queen Victoria, the first known haemophilia carrier in her family.
Other rarer bleeding disorders
Acquired haemophlia - this is very rare and happens when the body's own immune system develops antibodies which attack factor VIII in a person with no history of a bleeding disorder. There are around two new cases per million of the population each year.
Factor I (1) deficiency - Fibrogen deficiency
Factor II (2) deficiency - usually called Prothrombin deficiency
Factor V (5) deficiency - also known as Owren's disease and parahaemophilia
Factor VII (7) deficiency - also called Alexander's disease
Factor X (10) deficiency - also known as Stuart-Prower deficiency
Factor XI (11) deficiency - also known as haemophilia C
Factor XII (12) deficiency - sometimes called Hageman factor
Factor XIII (13) deficiency
Glanzman's thrombasthenia - affects both men and women; bruising, nosebleeds and mouth bleeds can occur and can be severe
Bernard-Soullier Syndrome - this inheried bleeding disorder affects men and women; there is a problem with the platelets which lack the ability to adhere to the walls of injured blood vessels
