Bleeding disorders caused by blood clotting factor deficiencies

What is a bleeding disorder?

Bleeding disorders are those in which the blood fails to clot normally. Blood clotting is the process by which protein factors and platelets activate one another to form a plug at a site of bleeding such as a torn blood vessel to prevent further loss of blood from the site. Over time the initial plug forms into a scab and healing of the torn vessel occurs. Clots are formed by the activation in the blood of special proteins called clotting factors, these factors activate one another in a sequential manner or cascade that results in a blood clot over a few minutes and this stops bleeding. When a clotting factor is missing, only present in low amounts or in an ineffective form the cascade cannot complete. No clot is formed so bleeding continues.

Names of clotting factor deficiencies

The most common disease caused by clotting factor deficiency is haemophilia due to deficiency of blood clotting factor VIII. There are other much rarer clotting factor deficiencies, the absences of which cause bleeding disorders. The rarer types are named for the factor that is missing:

• Factor II deficiency
• Factor V deficiency
• Factor VII deficiency
• Factor X deficiency
• Factor XIII deficiency

Treatment of clotting factor deficiency

The treatment of these rarer clotting factor deficiencies is the same as the treatment of severe haemophilia – clotting factor less than 1% of normal levels. This usually means prophylactic (preventative) treatment with clotting factors several times a week. See ‘prophylactic clotting factor treatment’.

Obviously the factor used will be the one that is missing. Factors V, VII and XIII can be manufactured and are called recombinant factors. Factors II and X cannot be manufactured and are extracted and concentrated from human blood. There is currently no known risk of virus or disease transmission from these plasma products as manufactured today.