What Is Prophylaxis?

Prophylaxis is the term used for the infusion of clotting factor (proteins in the blood which help to stem blood flow) for people living with severe hemophilia. This is a preventative measure to avoid bleeds should the patient injure themselves and can also be taken after a bleed to lessen the severity of the bleed.

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The clotting factor used will depend on the type of hemophilia they have and their individual levels of clotting factor. Prophylaxis aims to keep the clotting factor level of the person at around 1 percent using concentrates of clotting factor derived from either human plasma or lab-made recombinant clotting factors. The lab-made factors come in powder form which are then mixed with water to be injected (source: WebMD).

People living with hemophilia are generally advised to infuse clotting factor three times a week to be able to maintain a normal, healthy lifestyle. Find out more about prophylaxis here.

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