Failure of blood clot (haemopelia) day – 17th April – Avoid marriage with close relatives
Posted on: 16/Apr/2014 3:43:33 PM
Flowing freely within the body and tending to clot when coming out are the basic properties of blood. This is nature’s gift for mankind to protect life. For some people, blood does not clot when it comes out of the body. This may lead to death. This is called haemophelia.
The blood circulating within the body should never clot. It has to remain in liquid form fr good blood circulation for good health. However, the blood should clot when it comes out of the body. Only then, blood flow will stop. Waste of blood will be arrested and life will be saved.
When the blood fails to clot, the condition is known as ‘haemopelia’. This is hereditary complaint and occurs as 1 among 10000.
The need to be alert
Usually, the blood starts clotting within 3 minutes after the injury or wound. For the people suffering from haemopelia, the blood will not clot even after 30 minutes. They should inform the doctors before occasions such as tooth extraction or any operation. This will prevent any danger. They should also avoid pain-killing medicines as it might cause bleeding within the stomach and will endanger life.
It is better to learn how this disease occurs. Chromosomes determine the sex. For males, it is ‘xy’ chromosomes. For women, it is ‘xx’. Deficiency in ‘x’ chromosome is the reason for blood clotting failure. Males with only 1 ‘x’ chromosome will face this problem. However, since the females have 2’x’ in the ‘xx’ chromosomes, even if one fails, the other ‘x’ will help clotting.
Marrying a close relative
Just for information, Queen Victoria suffered from haemopelia but since she was a female, she escaped from being affected. However, it affected the next generation. She had 2 daughters among her 5 children. Through them, some of the male children had this disease. The disease came to be known as ‘royal disease’!
Life is short for the people who suffer from haemopelia. They have to take care to be free from any injuries to prolong their life span.
The disease spreads mostly by marriages among close relatives. As it is hereditary, there is no cure. However, it can be controlled.
World Federation of Haemopelia was formed to increase awareness about this disease. Mr. Frank Schanabel was the founder. His birthday, 17th April, is observed as Haemopelia day.
