Next month, April 21–23, the MacDonald family heads to San Antonio to attend the Hemophilia Federation of America’s 2022 Symposium. I cannot wait to see old friends and participate in educational sessions regarding upcoming treatments and services to the bleeding disorders community. My wife, Cazandra, and I haven’t…

Treatment with Hemlibra (emicizumab) can help to effectively manage bleeding in individuals with acquired hemophilia A (AHA), according to a new study. While clinical trials will need to be done to fully assess Hemlibra as an AHA therapy, the researchers said this medication also has the potential to…

Part one in a series.  I stood over my son’s hospital bed, waiting for the morphine to kick in and give him some relief. “MacDonald the Younger” continued to scream as the pain became unbearable. My boy had once described to me his experience of a bleeding…

Getting diagnosed with a bleeding disorder can be difficult. I am somewhat fortunate. At age 10 in 1975, I was diagnosed with multiple bleeding disorders. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t have bumps and challenges along the way. Testing, treatment, and classification of bleeding disorders have changed dramatically since…

In the first clinical trial of the experimental therapy SIG-001 for hemophilia A, one patient developed scarring in the spheres used to deliver the therapy that rendered the treatment ineffective, its developer, Sigilon Therapeutics, announced. The Phase 1/2 trial was put on hold by the U.S. Food and Drug…

My son has his seventh port lodged on his left side, between two ribs, just below his chest. This one is his most successful port regarding the amount of time (two-plus years) and accessibility. When the doctor placed one of the earlier ports at “MacDonald the Younger’s”…

Researchers analyzed the patterns of bruising in children younger than six years old to understand the extent to which their inherited bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia, affected the number, size, and location of these bruises — and found that bruising in the youngest of these children may be an early…

Takeda has presented new real-world data to support the cost-effectiveness and persistent benefits to patients of its hemophilia A and B therapies: Adynovate [antihemophilic factor (recombinant), PEGylated] and Feiba (anti-inhibitor coagulant complex). The findings were discussed at the recent 61st American Society of Hematology…

An innovative gel containing two snake venom proteins known to help blood clotting, rapidly and effectively forms stable clots and reduces bleeding even in the presence of a blood-clotting disorder, as is the case in hemophilia, a preclinical study shows. The gel, which transitions to a liquid form below…

  I have a few rituals on Sunday evenings. I check to make sure clothes are washed and ready for the week, I set the menu so that we have a plan for dinner throughout the week, and I fill the infusing bucket and bring it to the…