Michael, a young adult from the Netherlands, shares his perspective on living with haemophilia A
Hemophilia A is a bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot normally. People with this disorder have prolonged bleeding or oozing after an injury, surgery, or tooth extraction. In severe cases, heavy bleeding occurs after minor injury or even when there is no injury (spontaneous bleeding). Serious complications can result from bleeding into the joints, muscles, brain, or other internal organs. In milder forms there is no spontaneous bleeding, and the disorder may not become apparent until after a surgery or serious injury.
The major types of this condition are hemophilia A (also known as classic hemophilia or factor VIII deficiency) and hemophilia B (also known as Christmas disease or factor IX deficiency). Although the two types have very similar signs and symptoms, they are caused by mutations in different genes.