Living with haemophilia

Abstract

Haemophilia is an inherited genetic disorder causing bleeding mainly into the joints and muscles. It is carried through the mother to the son; however, one in three cases is a mutation with no previous history of haemophilia in the family. A misconception is if a person with haemophilia cuts themselves they will bleed to death. Whilst there is now good treatment available with clotting concentrates mainly in developed countries, the majority of people with haemophilia receive little or no treatment, due largely to cost, in the rest of the world.