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Hemophilia In the human body, each cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, one of each pair inherited through the egg from the mother, and the other inherited through the sperm of the father. Of these chromosomes, those that determine sex are X and Y. Females have XX and males have XY. If the genetic information determining the factor VIII and factor IX level is defective, hemophilia results. When this happens, the protein factors needed for normal blood clotting are effected. In males, the single X chromosome that is effected cannot compensate for the lack, and hence will show the defect. In females, however, only one of the two chromosomes will be abnormal. The other chromosome is likely to be normal of hemophilia, hemophilia A and B. Hemophilia A is a hereditary disorder in which bleeding is due to deficiency of the clotting factor VIII. In most of the cases, the protein is reduced but in a rare amount of cases, this protein is present by the immunoassay but defective. Hemophilia A is the most common severe bleeding disorder and approximately 1 in 10,000 males are effected.
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