Hemophilia Essay

Hemophilia Hemophilia is the oldest recorded hereditary bleeding disorder. The disorder is hereditary and is passed down from parents to offspring. It usually only occurs in males but hemophilia is also carried in women. In industrialized nations hemophilia is not very dangerous because of the availability of treatment and therapies, but in less modern third world countries hemophilia is still very dangerous to those who have it. Hemophilia is a hereditary disorder and passed on from parents to offspring. It occurs because of a defect on the X chromosome. Women have two X chromosomes which makes it much less likely to inherit the disease from their parents but they can still carry the disease. For a female to get hemophilia the father must have hemophilia and the mother must either carry or have the disorder herself. If the mother is a carrier and the father has hemophilia there is still a fifty percent chance of having a female without the disorder. However if both parents have the disorder all the children both male and female will inherit hemophilia. Males on the other hand only have one X chromosome. If their X chromosome has the defect they will have the disorder. Hemophilia is a genetic disorder so the probability of having a child with hemophilia can be calculated.
Hemophilia can also be diagnosed after birth with blood tests. Usually there are many blood tests done on the infant to rule out bleeding disorders other than hemophilia. The blood tests done to determine whether or not a child has inherited hemophilia require about two teaspoons of blood from the infant. The tests measure the percentage of clotting factor VIII and IX in the blood. The blood tests can also determine the severity of hemophilia in the child. These blood tests usually take about two weeks to be completed.
Hemophilia is a disorder in which the blood does not clot normally. People with hemophilia lack the protein that causes blood to clot. This can cause them to bleed