Rare Bleeding Disorders

There are 10 clotting factors necessary in forming a blood clot. Deficiencies in factors VIII and IX (hemophilia A and B, respectively) are well known to most people, but other less common factor deficiencies do exist.

Unlike von Willebrand disease and hemophilia, rare factor deficiencies occur equally among men and women in most cases. In general, the gene is passed down in an autosomal recessive fashion. This means that when the factor deficiency is inherited from only one parent, the child will be a carrier of the condition, though he or she will usually not have symptoms. However, it is possible for people to inherit a gene from both parents, but this happens very rarely and usually means a more severe form of the disease.

Knowing your family history in detail is an important component to diagnosing a rare factor deficiency. A hematologist, a doctor who specializes in treating bleeding disorders, will most often make the diagnosis. Making a proper diagnosis for some of these rare conditions requires a quality lab and an experienced hematologist.

Learn more about the different types of rare factor deficiency:

Factor I Deficiency
Factor VII Deficiency
Factor X Deficiency
Factor XI Deficiency
Factor XIII Deficiency