Hemophilia is a hereditary disease that affects coagulation. This can cause spontaneous bleeding, after an operation or an injury. It is a rare disorder; it is estimated that 1 in 10 thousand people are born with it.

People with hemophilia have low levels of the proteins responsible for causing blood to clot properly, called "clotting factors."

This happens because of a mutation or change in one of the genes that gives the instructions to produce the coagulation factor proteins necessary to form a blood clot. This change or mutation can cause the coagulation proteins not to work properly or that are not directly present.

There are several types of this disease, the most frequent are: hemophilia A, when there is a deficit or lack of coagulation factor VIII, and hemophilia B, when the deficit or lack is in the coagulation factor IX.

Common signs of hemophilia include bleeding in various parts of the body: in the joints, under the skin (bruising), in the muscles and soft tissues, in the mouth and gums, after receiving injections, in the head of the newborn after a difficult delivery, in the nose (frequent or difficult to stop), as well as blood in the urine or stool.

The best way to treat hemophilia is by replacing the missing factor, so that the blood can coagulate properly. This is done by infusing (intravenously) coagulation factor concentrates that are prepared commercially.

Every 17th of April, World Hemophilia Day is commemorated, chosen by the World Federation of Hemophilia in honor of the birthday of its founder, Frank Schnabel.

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