İstanbul international hemophilia congress a record success

Hemophilia is a hereditary disorder that damages the blood’s ability to clot. The conference program includes sessions on medical advances aiding in the diagnosis, treatment and testing of bleeding disorders, in addition to psychosocial and quality of life issues, a WFH press release issued earlier this week said. Sessions and paper presentations were led by distinguished international researchers, physicians and community leaders.

If left untreated or not treated properly, hemophilia can lead to continual pain, disability, isolation and premature death.

Over 5,000 Turks suffer from hemophilia, according to the Hemophilia Society of Turkey’s Web site. “A lot of issues [faced by hemophiliacs and persons with other bleeding disorders] in Turkey are basically the issues in a number of other countries around the world,” Bayne said, citing insufficiencies in treatment, assessment and patient registration as major problems.

İstanbul was chosen as the location for the biennial congress four years ago, when the Hemophilia Society of Turkey, a WFH National Member Organization (NMO), successfully won the bid to host the conference, Bayne said. İstanbul was chosen over Milan. The congress is held in a different country every two years, “so that we can get more participants and also help the [hosting] NMOs in their own planning and activities,” she noted.

“The real focus, the basis of our mission, is treatment for all,” she said. The WFH defines its “Treatment for All” motto as meaning that all people with bleeding disorders should have access to safe and effective treatment until there is a cure and that, meanwhile, safe products, proper diagnosis, management and care by trained specialists should be available.