China promotes standardized diagnosis, treatment for hemophilia

BEIJING -- China has made significant efforts in promoting the standardized diagnosis and treatment for hemophilia patients with over 200 special centers for this disease built over the past few years.

As of September 2022, a total of 235 such centers with unified standards for testing, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation have been set up in China, with about 44,830 patients registered.

According to Yang Renchi, director of the hemophilia unit under the China Alliance for Rare Diseases, such centers fall into three categories: hemophilia treatment centers, hemophilia diagnosis and treatment centers, and hemophilia comprehensive management centers, offering complete care, including daily treatment and disease education for patients with relevant conditions.

Since 2020, the alliance has been working with a national collaborative network for hemophilia treatment and launched a program for building relevant centers for hemophilia, advocating standardized therapy and management of the disease.

China has added hemophilia to the country's list of rare diseases and included relevant medicine in the medical insurance catalog.

The government has also taken measures to increase awareness among targeted groups and mitigate the risks of such birth defects, according to the National Health Commission.

According to the alliance, hemophilia affects an average of about 2.73 in every 100,000 people in China.

April 17 this year marks the 35th World Hemophilia Day, and this year's theme is "Access for All: Prevention of bleeds as the global standard of care."