Proceedings of the first annual congress of the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders

Abstract

Huge advances in haemophilia care have been achieved over the last three decades, especially so in the developed world, which includes many European countries. However, it is clear that the standards of haemophilia care across the continent are not uniform. This is because of a variety of reasons including differences in percentage gross domestic product dedicated to health care, lack of haemophilia patient pressure groups, and paucity of trained specialist haemostasis physicians, nurses, orthopaedic surgeons and other members of the multidisciplinary team. Furthermore, there is an increasing need to coordinate clinical research in large numbers of individuals with haemophilia. This situation has highlighted the need for, and led to, the establishment of a new professional association – the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders (EAHAD) – that could address similar challenges facing haemophilia care in Europe in the twenty-first century. [Excerpt]