Senior Specialist Haematologist at the University of Ghana Medical Centre, Dr. Nana Agyeiwah Awuku has revealed that men are at higher risk of develop haemophilia as a result of excessive bleeding after circumcision.
According to her, the male immune system is not strong enough to produce the clotting factor to stop the continuous bleeding, making them vulnerable to the illness.
Explaining scientifically, the haematologist said, “It is more with males because the gene that produces the clotting factor is on chromosome X, and males have only one chromosome X while females have two. So, for the females, even if one of the X chromosomes is affected, the other one is there to balance it, but males have X and Y.”
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“If the gene on the X is affected, they don’t have any buffer. So, it’s commoner in males. One of the commonest presenting symptoms in early childhood is circumcision,” she added.
Although haemophilia is a male-dominated infection, females are equally at risk because it is hereditary.
Due to the risk of excessive bleeding, most families fail to circumcise their male offspring to prevent haemophilia.
Dr. Agyeiwah on the other hand has advised them to disregard the disease’s myths, circumcise their children, and report to the nearest health facility if the need arises.
Treatment, according to the haematologist, is free at all public hospitals in the country.
Also speaking on the show, Martin Boakye, who is the President and Founder of the Ghana Haemophilia Society, noted that approximately 500 males have been diagnosed with the disease in the country.
He stated that the gradual increase of the illness is due to misunderstanding and how it has been associated with rheumatism.
This, he said contributes to the severity of haemophilia as the child grows older.
“In the rural areas, they do concoctions and rub them on the legs of the child, which never works, then soon when the boy reaches 10 years, the knee is bent and swollen, and they call it rheumatism,” Mr. Boakye stated.
As the president of the society, he revealed that he founded the Haemophilia Society in Ghana after losing his first son to the disease in order to create awareness and assist other victims, as the ailment is uncommon in the country.
He said, “The movement started in 2009 when I lost my son a couple of years before and my second son had the same symptoms of circumcision. So, we started with 1, which is my son, and fast forward, we have around 480 patients diagnosed with haemophilia.”
Mr. Boakye further indicated that the disease is becoming one of the leading causes of divorce in marriages, as some husbands abandon the children with the wives
He has called on the government to provide the organisation with the resources it requires to save the lives of haemophilia patients.
Haemophilia is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body’s ability to make blood clots. This can lead to spontaneous bleeding as well as bleeding following injuries or surgery.
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