Hemophilia
Hemophilia is an inherited genetic bleeding disorder caused due to lack of various blood clotting factors - Factor VIII, Factor IX, Factor XI, Factor V and Von Willibrand Factor. The most common hemophilia is due to deficiency of Factor VIII and is also known as "Haemophilia A". It almost always affects male offsprings of a carrier female. It is also known as "Royal Disease" due to fact that this disease devastated the royal families of nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe. Queen Victoria of the Great Britain was the first known carrier of this disease in her family and through her female carrier offsprings, who were married into other royal families of the Europe, hemophilia spread in those families as well. Another reason for calling it a "Royal Disease" is that its treatment is extremely expense and could only be afforded by very rich people. Patients suffering from hemophilia, depending on severity, may bleed profusely spontaneously or on slight trauma. Bleeding usually occurs in large joints in the body. Repeated episodes of bleeding if not treated promptly lead to joint deformity and as a result to severe disability for life. Bleeding in the brain and gastro intestinal tract can be life threatening.
Cost of Treatment:
As already mentioned, the cost of treatment is very expense. A patient would require around $ 1,000-2,000 per month (for purchase of Dry Factor Injections) for life just to prevent the occurrence of bleeding episodes. If a patient is unfortunate to have suffered a bleeding episode and in order to stop bleeding, the cost of treatment could be much higher.