Christmas Disease

This is a form of haemophilia caused by deficiency of Christmas’ factor. It is a disturbance of coagulation that may easily be confused with classical heamophilia, with which it is clinically almost identical.

Factor IX was discovered in 1952 in a young patient with hemophilia B named Stephen Christmas (1947-1993). His deficiency was described by Dr. Rosemary Biggs and Professor R.G. MacFarlane in Oxford, UK. The factor is hence called Christmas Factor or Christmas Eve Factor. Christmas lived in Canada, and campaigned for blood transfusion safety until succumbing to transfusion-related AIDS at age 46. An alternative name for the factor is plasma thromboplastin component.

Incidence: 1/40,000 (15-20% of haemophilias). The condition is transmitted as a sex-linked recessive trait through female carriers. Prevalent in males.

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Tooth and ENT Doctor

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