Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder, passed on from mothers, which affects the blood’s ability to clot. The World Hemophilia Federation estimates that about 10,000 Filipinos have hemophilia, with about 1 million suffering from Von Willebrand disease and other bleeding disorders. As we celebrate the Hemophilia Awareness Month this April, here are five facts on hemophilia gathered from a study entitled “Hemorrhagic diseases in Filipino children” published in The Philippine Journal of Pediatrics.

1. There are two common types of hemophilia

Hemophilia A is the most common type of hemophilia that occurs in about 1 in 5000 males caused by missing or defective factor VIII. Hemophilia B is a less common type of hemophilia that occurs in about 1 in 25000 male births caused by missing or defective factor IX. Having a defective factor means that the body of person has no means to repair itself when there is damage in the blood vessel or injured tissue that will lead to excessive bleeding and internal hemorrhaging.

2. Uncontrolled bleeding occurs

A more serious concern for people suffering from hemophilia is spontaneous bleeding; any leak can cause severe bleeding and the body will not heal itself. Bleeding into different organs can be life threatening because when it occurs to a vital organ, it can cause permanent damage beyond repair.

3. It affects children

Hemophilia B Leyden is an extremely rare form of Hemophilia B that causes young children to bleed excessively throughout childhood but when they reach puberty, very little bleeding occurs afterward.

4. Women can get affected too

Hemophilia is a recessive x-linked trait which affects approximately 1 in 4500 males, but there are cases in which the mutation can cause the same disease issue to the carrier [mothers].

5. No cure available yet

Medical scientists haven’t found a cure yet for this condition. The only treatment available for hemophilia is replacement therapy wherein, concentrates of clotting factor VIII (for hemophilia A) and IX (for hemophilia B) are slowly dripped or injected into a vein. This helps in replacing the defective clotting factor of the blood. Out of the 10000 Filipinos that suffer from hemophilia, 3 out of every 4 people lack the resources required for proper treatments.

This research is one of the many studies on hemophilia uploaded in the Health Research and Development Information Network (HERDIN), an online database of PCHRD that enables online publishing, exchanging, and dissemination of quality health information in the Philippines. It is the only health research repository for published researches in the county.

In the spirit of raising awareness on Hemophilia Month, PCHRD invites universities, colleges, laboratories, and medical and research institutions to upload their published and unpublished researches to HERDIN to expand the reach of their study and foster collaboration to find research-based solutions to healthcare problems such as hemophilia.

For more information, you can visit HERDIN’s website at http://www.herdin.ph/