How is hemophilia diagnosed?
Hemophilia is diagnosed by taking a blood sample and measuring the level of factor activity in the blood. Hemophilia A is diagnosed by testing the level of factor VIII coagulation activity in the blood. Hemophilia B is diagnosed by measuring the level of factor IX activity. If the mother is a carrier, testing can be done before a baby is born. Prenatal diagnosis can be done at 9 to 11 weeks by chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or by fetal blood sampling at a later stage (18 or more weeks). These tests can be done at a hemophilia treatment centre. A list of treatment centres around the world is accessible from the WFH web site. Click on Passport to search the directory.
