World Hemophilia Day 2023

 The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with hemophilia and other genetic bleeding disorders. It educates people with bleeding disorders and lobbies for improved medical treatment. 75% of people in the world with bleeding disorders do not know it and do not receive care.

The WFH was established by Frank Schnabel in 1963 and has its headquarters in Montreal, Canada. It has member organizations in 147 countries and official recognition from the World Health Organization. The current President is Cesar Garrido.

World Hemophilia Day is held annually on April 17 by the WFH. It serves to raise funds and attract volunteers for the WFH. It was started in 1989; April 17 was chosen in honor of Frank Schnabel's birthday.

This year, it will be celebrated on April 17, 2023. The theme of the event will be, “Access for All, Prevention of bleeds as the global standard of care”. 

Building on last year’s theme, the call to action for the community in 2023 is to come together and advocate with local policy makers and governments for improved access to treatment and care with an emphasis on better control and prevention of bleeds for all people with bleeding disorders (PWBDs). This means the implementation of home-based treatment as well as prophylactic treatment to help those individuals have a better quality of life.

These serious disorders affect a person’s ability to clot blood, which can turn minor traumas that wouldn’t ordinarily be cause for concern into potentially life-threatening events. However, because hemophilia and other bleeding disorders are statistically more rare than other chronic diseases (only 1 in 10,000 suffer from hemophilia), these disorders often get overlooked when it comes to funding and exposure. That is why this year’s theme for World Hemophilia Day is “Access for All: Partnership. Policy, Progress. Engaging your government, integrating bleeding disorders into national policy.”

Bleeding disorders may be rarer than other chronic diseases, but they are no less serious and impactful to patients and their loved ones. This April, we encourage you to learn more about hemophilia and how, together, we can serve as advocates for patients, families and caregivers who manage life with these conditions.

 Patients and advocates can also consider taking action to help boost awareness of hemophilia and bleeding disorders by:

✓ Getting Social - Post about bleeding disorders on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn using the #WorldHemophiliaDay, #WHD2022, and #LightItUpRed hashtag.

✓ Sharing Your Story about how you or someone you know has been affected by bleeding disorders, and listening to the stories of others.