World Haemophilia Day 2026

Haemophilia Foundation Australia joined the global bleeding disorders community to mark World Haemophilia Day on Friday 17 April 2026.

World Haemophilia Day 2026 was an opportunity to raise awareness and provide education on bleeding disorders, sharing stories from our community and encouraging everyone to come together in support of people with bleeding disorders.

Across Australia, almost 100 landmarks lit up red to show support for the bleeding disorders community.

World Haemophilia Day was started in 1989 by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), choosing 17 April in honour of WFH founder Frank Schnabel’s birthday.

This year’s theme was Diagnosis: First step to care.

The WFH estimates that over 75% of people with haemophilia worldwide are undiagnosed, and an even more significant gap also exists for other bleeding disorders. This means that hundreds of thousands of people with bleeding disorders around the world still lack access to basic care.

In particular, women and girls with bleeding disorders still face many challenges to receiving a diagnosis, delaying their access to diagnosis, specialised treatment and care. The greatest challenge is a lack of awareness – among health professionals, the women themselves and the general public.

In Australia, our community is fortunate to have access to a range of treatments, care and services. During recent times, some new haemophilia therapies available in Australia have led to fewer or no bleeds and greatly improved the quality of life of those who have been able to use them. We look forward to more novel therapies in the future for everyone.

We thank everyone who participated on 17 April 2026. It was amazing to see the many landmarks across Australia that lit up red, and we appreciate the support of the organisations that manage them.

FIND OUT MORE

To learn more, visit the HFA website World Haemophilia Day page.

WORLD HAEMOPHILIA DAY AROUND AUSTRALIA

Mason’s water tower

Mason and his family live in regional QLD but didn’t want to miss out on celebrating his 12th World Haemophilia Day – so they created their very own red landmark!

“We really didn’t want Mason to miss out this year with being so far from a major town. I was so proud to be able to create this for him with his dad. Mason felt so lucky.”