Hemophilia

Hemophilia is a disorder in which there is a lack of or a shortage of one of the 11 blood-clotting factors, resulting in bruising and bleeding. The disease, caused by a sex-linked defective gene, affects about one in 5,000 boys born in the United States. Although hemophilia typically is inherited, a third of patients have a new genetic mutation.

The most common type of hemophilia, caused by a lack of clotting factor VIII, is called hemophilia A or classic hemophilia. The second most common type is caused by a lack of clotting factor IX and is called hemophilia B or Christmas disease, named for Stephen Christmas, the first person diagnosed with the factor IX deficiency. Hemophilia A and B occur almost always in boys. A third, very rare type of hemophilia, called Hemophilia C, is caused by a lack of clotting factor XI and can occur in both girls and boys.

At UCSF Children's Hospital, the Hemophilia Treatment Center is a federally designated Hemophilia Comprehensive Care Center, supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other state and federal agencies. Our team provides a full range of services, including diagnosis, treatment, counseling and education. We treat adults and children with hemophilia and other congenital bleeding disorders throughout Northern California.

Through research, we provide the latest advances in treating the disease and its complications.

For more information, please call:
Hemophilia Treatment Center (415) 476-4901

See our FAQs about hemophilia and children.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Children's Hospital.
Last updated December 9, 2008