Hemophilia Association of the Capital Area

The Hemophilia Association of the Capital Area is dedicated to serving the bleeding disorders population in Alexandria and throughout Northern Virginia and the rest of the Metro DC area.

A bleeding disorder is a flaw in the body’s blood clotting system. Blood clotting (also known as coagulation) is the process that controls bleeding by changing blood from a liquid to a solid state.

Clotting is a complex process involving as many as 20 different plasma proteins, or blood clotting factors. In people with bleeding disorders, these clotting factors are missing or do not work as they should. This causes them to bleed for longer periods of time than people whose blood factor levels are normal or work properly. The beliefs that persons with bleeding disorders bleed to death from minor injuries or that their blood flows faster are myths.

There are several types of bleeding disorders. The best known is hemophilia:

Hemophilia A is the result of a deficiency of the clotting factor called factor VIII.

Hemophilia B is caused by a deficiency of factor IX.

The most common bleeding disorder, thought to affect as many as 1% of the population, is Von Willebrand disease. It is caused by a defect in or deficiency of Von Willebrand factor, a glue-like protein produced by the cells that line the blood vessel walls.