Bleeding Disorders

Bleeding disorders are a group of conditions that result when the blood cannot clot properly. Around one in 2,000 men, women and children in the UK have a diagnosed bleeding disorder, which is almost always inherited.

The most common is von Willebrand disorder (VWD), which affects slightly more women than men; with 7,165 women and 4,123 men diagnosed in the UK (though many thousands remain undiagnosed). Perhaps the most well-known bleeding disorder is haemophilia A, which predominantly, but not exclusively, affects men (11,228 people in the UK). There are also several rare bleeding disorders, which you can read more about below.

As many as a third of bleeding disorder diagnoses have no known family history and can be the result of a random gene mutation. This means a bleeding disorder diagnosis can come completely out of the blue. In addition, many people with a bleeding disorder are undiagnosed or are diagnosed late because of a lack of understanding about these rare conditions. Find out more below.

The Haemophilia Society CANNOT give out any medical, diagnosis or treatment advice. We recommend that you speak to your haemophilia team directly regarding your healthcare concern.

Haemophilia

Haemophilia is a lifelong, inherited bleeding disorder. In haemophilia one of the clotting factor proteins…
Read more Read more

Von Willebrand Disorder

Von Willebrand disorder, also known as von Willebrand disease (VWD), is a bleeding disorder that…
Read more Read more

Inhibitors

An inhibitor is a type of antibody that prevents factor replacement treatment from working. When…
Read more Read more

Women with Bleeding Disorders

There are 17,000 women and girls in the UK living with a diagnosed bleeding disorder…
Read more Read more

Rare Bleeding Disorders

Bleeding disorders are a group of conditions that result when the blood cannot clot properly….
Read more Read more

Treatment Types

The treatment options available differ depending on the type band severity of the bleeding disorder….
Read more Read more

Treatment Centres

Your treatment centre will be your local source of advice and support. You should register…
Read more Read more

Frequently Asked Questions

Receiving a diagnosis can leave patients and their families with many unanswered questions. Many want to know…
Read more Read more

Research

Around the world, work to improve our understanding of bleeding disorders and find new, improved…
Read more Read more