About Bleeding Disorders
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Bleeding disorders is a description given to medical problems which result from poor blood clotting or continuous bleeding. This bleeding may cause bleeding into muscles, joints or organs which can cause long term damage and disability if untreated.
Bleeding disorders are usually caused by problems in the blood vessels or in the blood itself. Abnormalities can be in blood clotting factors or in platelets. The most common of these bleeding disorders are haemophilia and von Willebrand disorder. Neither is a disease that you can catch. People are born with it.
Haemophilia is a genetic bleeding disorder where an essential clotting factor is deficient. Bleeding is mostly internal, usually into joints or muscles.
Haemophilia is usually inherited, but in 1/3 of cases it appears in families with no family history through a genetic mutation. The haemophilia gene is passed down from a parent to a child.
The most severe forms of haemophilia affect almost only males. Women who carry the haemophilia gene may also have bleeding problems.
Haemophilia is incurable, and it can be life threatening if untreated. Treatment is with replacement clotting factor.
In Australia there are around 3500 people with haemophilia, von Willebrand disorder or other related inherited bleeding disorders.
High quality care and treatment is available in Australia. However, 75% of people with bleeding disorders throughout the world are undiagnosed and untreated, particularly where health care is not well resourced.
von Willebrand disorder (vWD) is a bleeding disorder which affects males and females and is usually inherited. People with vWD have a problem with a protein in their blood that helps control bleeding. They do not have enough of the protein or it does not work the way it should. It takes longer for blood to clot and for bleeding to stop. Many people with vWD have a mild form; however some people may require treatment.
There is more specific information on haemophilia and von Willebrand Disorder on our website (click on the words to be directed)