Bleeding Disorders
Published on
Bleeding Disorders
Bleeding disorders include a number of diseases that prevent proper blood clotting. Causes include abnormal platelet count, volume, morphology, function, and impaired coagulation. Proper clotting is critical for healing. If left untreated, uncontrolled bleeding due to a bleeding disorder can cause painful long-term effects like severe joint damage or viral infections. Obtaining a diagnosis allows for some bleeding disorders to be treated with the use of clotting factor concentrates or topical products applied in a hospital setting.
What Can We Do To Help Raise Awareness?
March was declared National Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month as an opportunity for those affected with bleeding disorders to share their stories, help raise awareness, and encourage others to learn more. Below are a couple ways to help raise awareness and help those affected by bleeding disorders.
Red Tie Campaign
In 2016, the National Hemophilia Foundation started the Red Tie Campaign with the goals of raising awareness of bleeding disorders and raising funds to support research, education, and advocacy initiatives. Participants are encouraged to don a red tie and share a photo on social media, while encouraging others to get involved too. Why a red tie? Because red symbolizes blood, and the tie ‘binds’ us together!
Learn more on the Red Tie Campaign’s website and join us in promoting the #RedTieCampaign.
Hosting a Blood Drive
At PreventionGenetics, we’re fortunate to have a team of passionate individuals who coordinate blood drives at our facility throughout the year. These blood donations help support those in our community who need blood transfusions, which can include those with blood disorders. When asked why she helps coordinate the blood drives, Amanda, a Lab Technician, said, “I believe it is a great cause, since you never know when you or someone you care about will need blood product due to illness or accident. The work we do here at PreventionGenetics is already closely tied to the medical community where we help medical providers give the best possible care to their patients, and this is just one more way that we are able to support that community.” To find a blood drive near you, click here.
Genetic Testing
With many factors contributing to clot formation, differential diagnosis of bleeding disorders can be time- and labor-intensive, and difficult to interpret, especially in patients with milder symptoms. Genetic testing for bleeding disorders provides a means to examine many genes simultaneously to quickly identify potential causes to disease. Attaining a diagnosis sooner allows for employing appropriate therapies to mitigate bleeding episodes (Westbury et al. 2015; Simeoni et al. 2016; Lentaigne et al. 2016).
PreventionGenetics’ Bleeding Disorders Tests
PreventionGenetics offers a Bleeding Disorders Panel focused on inherited bleeding disorders due to impaired platelet function, coagulation factor deficiencies or thrombocytopenia.
Our bleeding disorders test includes copy number variant (CNV) analysis at no additional cost, and the option to reflex to PGxome, our whole-exome sequencing test, at a reduced rate.
Citations
Lentaigne C. et al. 2016. Blood. 127: 2814-23. PubMed ID: 27095789
Simeoni I. et al. 2016. Blood. 127: 2791-803. PubMed ID: 27084890
Westbury S.K. et al. 2015. Genome Medicine. 7: 36. PubMed ID: 25949529