Laurie Kelley

September Summary

Laurie Kelley September 13, 2026

I’m trying something new with HemaBlog: a quick rundown on what’s new this past month in the bleeding disorders community. New therapies are moving through clinical development, gene therapy remains an important—and increasingly complicated—part of the conversation, and major policy changes could affect access to treatment for some families. At the same time, greater attention is being paid to von Willebrand disease, rare bleeding disorders, and the long-overlooked needs of women and girls.

Here are several developments worth watching this month.

Gene Therapy Is Still Very Much in the Conversation

The past year has been challenging for hemophilia gene therapy, but hematologists have not lost interest.

A recent survey of European hematologists found that roughly 90% believe gene therapies will play a role in the future of hemophilia care. That is striking considering the commercial difficulties the field has experienced, including the discontinuation of some gene therapy programs and supply issues affecting HEMGENIX earlier this year.

The bigger question may no longer be simply whether gene therapy works. We now have to ask: Who is the best candidate? How durable will the effect be? What risks are acceptable? And will patients choose gene therapy when other highly effective treatments are already available?

Those questions will become increasingly important as gene therapy research continues.

Patients Like Their Treatments—but They Still Want Better

Another recent survey offers an important perspective from people actually living with hemophilia.

A Pfizer/Harris Poll survey of 1,000 people with hemophilia worldwide found that 84% were somewhat or very satisfied with their current treatment. But satisfaction did not mean that treatment burden had disappeared.

Participants still reported challenges such as declining venous access, difficulty being spontaneous, and treatment interfering with social life. When asked what might persuade them to change therapies, patients emphasized better effectiveness, easier administration and strong real-world evidence.

This reflects an important evolution in hemophilia treatment.

We once measured success primarily by survival and the prevention of serious bleeding. Today, patients are understandably asking for more: fewer bleeds, healthier joints, easier administration, freedom to travel and exercise, and less disruption of everyday life.

New Approaches to von Willebrand Disease

One of the most encouraging developments in bleeding disorders research is the growing attention being paid to von Willebrand disease (VWD). Hemab Therapeutics recently reported early clinical data on HMB-002, an experimental antibody being developed as a non-replacement treatment for VWD. In an early Phase 1/2 study, HMB-002 produced at least a 2.4-fold peak increase in von Willebrand factor and factor VIII. The treatment is being designed as a potentially monthly subcutaneous therapy rather than traditional replacement therapy.

These are early results and the study was not designed to prove clinical effectiveness. Still, the findings are interesting because they represent a fundamentally different way of approaching VWD treatment. Additional clinical data are expected later in 2026 or early 2027.

Medicaid Changes Deserve Attention Now

For U.S. families, one of the most consequential stories may have nothing to do with a new drug. New federal Medicaid work-reporting requirements are scheduled to take effect no later than January 1, 2027 for certain adults ages 19–64. Bleeding disorder organizations are warning that patients should begin preparing now.

CMS guidance recognizes that people with serious or complex medical conditions may qualify for exemptions, and bleeding-disorder advocates have specifically pushed for hemophilia and related conditions to be appropriately recognized. However, having a bleeding disorder may not automatically guarantee an exemption.

Patients who rely on Medicaid should keep their contact information current, carefully read notices from their state Medicaid program and discuss possible medical exemptions with their hemophilia treatment center. For a community dependent on extremely expensive, life-sustaining therapies, even a temporary loss of insurance coverage can be serious.

Women and Girls With Bleeding Disorders Take Center Stage

Recognition of bleeding disorders in women continues to grow internationally. This month the World Federation of Hemophilia highlighted Project Elevate Her, an unusual global awareness campaign led by mountaineer Maia Meier, who lives with Type 2A von Willebrand disease.

Meier is attempting the Seven Summits and a Last Degree ski expedition to the South Pole while using each expedition to highlight issues facing women and girls with bleeding disorders. Her September expedition to Manaslu focuses on a critical question: once a woman finally receives a bleeding disorder diagnosis, can she actually obtain appropriate care?

That question remains relevant around the world, where heavy menstrual bleeding and other bleeding symptoms in women are still too often normalized or overlooked.

And Globally, Access Still Matters Most

While much of the news in wealthier countries concerns gene therapy and sophisticated new drugs, the World Federation of Hemophilia offered an important reminder this month from Morocco. Long-term cooperation among the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program, the Moroccan Hemophilia Association, treatment centers, healthcare professionals and national authorities has significantly expanded access to treatment and comprehensive bleeding-disorder care there. It is worth remembering that for many people around the world, the breakthrough they need most is not gene editing or a new monoclonal antibody.

It is simply reliable diagnosis, access to treatment and knowledgeable medical care. And ultimately, that remains one of the central challenges facing the global bleeding disorders community.

Sources

Hemophilia Federation of America: Gene Therapy Remains Top of Mind for Hematologists

Hemophilia Federation of America: Latest bleeding disorders news and policy updates

Hemab Therapeutics: August 2026 clinical and corporate update

World Federation of Hemophilia: Project Elevate Her

World Federation of Hemophilia: Hemophilia care improvements in Morocco

Marvel-ous Hemophilia! PART 2

Laurie Kelley August 30, 2026

Our archivist Richard Atwood of North Carolina gave us such a great list of superheroes connected with bleeding disorders last time, that we needed a two-part series! And some of these are not superheroes, but characters in graphic novels. But we can argue that all kids with hemophilia are superheroes!

Unnamed Algerian Man

At a deserted beach in a hidden cove, a man from North Africa has a bleeding nose. He is a married jeweler, currently out of work, from the village of Tas’aout in Ath Yenni. The Algerian man spots a young woman skinny dipping, who then dies of unknown causes. Other families arrive at the resort beach. Several diseases are revealed. When two fathers remove the dead body from the water, one of them (a doctor) accuses the Algerian man with a bleeding nose of drowning the woman. No one can leave the beach due to an invisible force, and some of them die. The doctor punches the Algerian man, causing more nose bleeding. Those who do not die, significantly age.

This 2011 graphic novel titled Sandcastle is translated from the 2010 French edition Chateau de sable. The novel does not provide any explanations for the fast-paced aging by everyone on the beach. The nose bleeding, that lasts for hours, by the Algerian man is never diagnosed. When he is included in the script, his nose bleeds on 14 pages, while it does not bleed on 34 pages. Sound familiar? Maybe because M. Night Shaymalan’s 2021 movie Old is based on this novel. The movie script has a famous rapper with a blood clotting problem whose nose bleeds for hours at the resort beach. After a female swimmer is found dead in the water, the doctor stabs the rapper to death. Two survivors return to the resort to accuse the manager and the Warren and Warren drug company of murder. The pharmaceutical company had discovered this cove in which magnetisms and minerals cause cells to age rapidly. The drug company had been conducting observational trials of experimental medicines during one day—equivalent of a lifetime the unwitting patients—to see of the drugs were successful.

Hortense

Hortense is 14 and has hemophilia (hemophile). She thinks her name is precious and ancient. She describes hemophilia as her body wanting to completely empty itself when the blood flows uncontrollably. She likes bloodstains on her clothes and she records her bleeds. She bled when losing a baby tooth. Her father calls her nose une champlure (or un robinet, a tap), when the real term is chantepleure. From the age of nine, Hortense carries tampons in her backpack for nose bleeds, thanks to her mother. Her parents want to protect their daughter by covering her in bubble-wrap (papier bulle). Hortense cannot play contact sports, yet she wants to practice martial arts, especially karate, like her brother does. She practices her moves, then paints them. She is artistic. In class, Hortense has her first period. She already has the tampons that must be changed hourly. She calls the hematologist for a prescription of des coagulants. Hortense considers herself a karateka-ninja-hemophiliac-teenager in bubble wrap.

This 2023 novella for young adults titled Papier Bulle is written in French. The title translates as Bubble Wrap. The text, told from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl, is notable for its artwork that bleeds through every page.

Isabel

During the Renaissance, the young Marco Tulio of the noble house of Padutti de Verona has sworn a secret oath with his beautiful distant cousin Isabel. The couple seal their romantic ceremony by pricking their fingers with a rose stem before mixing their blood. Tragically, Isabel is found to be hemophilic with unstoppable bleeding. Fortunately, her family knows Leonardo da Vinci who is able to stop the bleeding. However, the evil vampire Tristan de Padua, lord of the castle of Montenero, convinces Marco that Isabel can be forever cured if she were to be bitten on the neck. This deception results in her death. Isabel is then not holy, and cannot be buried in the cemetery. Marco grieves for five years, then plots his revenge. He confronts the evil vampire with accusations of murder. When Tristan sinks his fangs into the neck of Marco, the vampire suddenly dies because Marco has poisoned his own blood. Then tragically, Marco takes his own life. In their honor, Leonardo da Vinci sculpts a monument of the two young lovers holding hands over their burials surrounded by red roses.

This 2007 young adult picture story titled Jovenes Vampiros is written in Spanish and is based on the author/illustrator’s imagination. The type of hemophilia is never revealed, nor is the treatment suggested by Leonardo da Vinci ever explained.

Louis

Louis, who has hemophilia, is mocked by his friends for not participating in dangerous activities. The five Medikidz, who live on the planet Mediland, are medical superheroes who use their superpowers to teach kids about their disease. The Medikidz view the situation on the Medi-Vision, then use the teleport to transport Louis for an education experience. Among the explained issues are the blood clotting problem, the diagnosis and severity of hemophilia, various treatments, and different types of bleeds. The comment is made that hemophilia can seem scary. Yet with needed injections, Louis realizes that he can be like everyone else. He is teleported back to Earth where he retells his adventure concerning his genetic disorder.

This 2011 educational comic book titled What’s Up with Louis? is one in a series written by a team of medical personnel and then peer reviewed. The proceeds from the sale of the comic books assist an international children’s charity for medical education. The English edition has the haemophilia spelling, and replaces rugby for American football as an unacceptable contact sport, yet still has left-hand drive automobiles. It also has The Haemophiia Society logo on the back cover. The American edition is sponsored by Novo Nordisk.

Sam Atlas

Sam Atlas wears the pre-adolescent uniform of a hoodie and a backpack. He loves all things involving outer space, and always carries a telescope that he names Galileo. Sam wants to attend a week-long, out-of-town, and overnight Space Camp, but is afraid to ask his parents because he has hemophilia A. Sam treats with Hemlibra. When the sun in the Hemora Galaxy explodes, sun shards are sent in all directions—one even hits Sam’s notebook on Earth. The Stellar Guardians, who protect Hemora Galaxy, enlist Sam on a travel quest with obstacles on other planets to find five sun shards that will reforge the sun to save Hemora. Sam, under the guidance of the Guardians, travels by spaceship, by hiking, and by pedaling a hovering bicycle. Along the way, he learns several lessons: finding the power of his own voice to speak up for himself; finding the emotional courage to face his fear and keep going; and always being prepared and expecting the unexpected. Before completing his quest, Sam stops at the Injection Junction to refuel. After reforging the Hemora sun, Sam returns home to ask his parents about Space Camp, and, at school, he helps a new student with hemophilia A.

This 2025 educational graphic novella titled Stellar Guardians, that is sponsored by Genentech, uses the same travel quest plot used by Homer for Ulysses returning to Ithaca. The fictional story is a means to instill confidence and self-advocacy in younger individuals with hemophilia A. The concept of universal precautions is not stressed, while the main character does wear a modified space helmet when riding the hovering bicycle. The book includes a two-page Important Safety Information Section for Hemlibra, a Genentech product. A Spanish edition is available. The graphic novella is not labeled for age and reading-level appropriateness. The author and the illustrator are not identified.

Conclusion

Graphic novels and comics are popular by readers of all ages. This literature serves several purposes. Mostly there is entertainment, while some of the literature is justified as being educational. Hemophilia is represented by a variety of fictional characters: such as heroes, evil adversaries, evil geniuses, plus men and women of all ages. Some of these characters are just ordinary individuals, but, if you look closely, you may identify some superheroes.

References:

Jose Aguilar, Jovenes vampiros. El códice secreto. versos y trazos, 2007.

Anonymous, Stellar Guardians. Genentech, 2025.

Scott Beatty, Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Princess. DC Comics, 2003.

Simon Boulerice et Eve Patenaude, Papier Bulle. Alice Jeunesse, 2023.

Kim Chilman-Blair and Shawn DeLoache, What’s Up with Louis? Medikidz Explain Haemophilia. Medikidz, 2011.

Garth Ennis, The Punisher Presents Barracuda. Marvel, 2007.

Jennifer Grunwald, Marvel-Verse: Morbius. Marvel, 2021.

Fabian Nicieza and Tom DeFalco, The New Warriors: Beginnings. Marvel, 1992.

Frederick Peeters and Pierre Oscar Levy, Sandcastle. SelfMadeHero, 2011.

Kelley Puckett and Warren Pleece, Kinetic. DC Comics, 2005.

Marvel-ous Hemophilia!

Laurie Kelley August 16, 2026

Doug and I treated ourselves to a night out— like teenagers! We saw the newest Spider-Man movie. As I child growing up with six brothers, comic books about superheroes in the 1960s were a mainstay; my mother even sewed Batman outfits for two of my brothers one Halloween. But we were Marvel fans all the way. And Spider-Man was the coolest. So armed with popcorn (my Kryptonite) and a diet Coke, we enjoyed this latest installment!

And with the greatest of timing, our archivist and famed researcher, Richard Atwood, sent us an essay about hemophilia and superheroes! Where and when does Marvel Comics mention hemophilia? Or DC Comics? Or any superhero comic or movie?

Mayfly

Mayfly is a nemesis of Wonder Woman [DC Comics]. Mayfly is a high-velocity hit woman who almost assassinates Diana, the name that Wonder Woman assumes. Mayfly suffers from a rare form of hemophilia. She is addicted to the drug Velocity-9. Wonder Woman captures the evil Mayfly. While imprisoned, Mayfly ends her own brief life. The type of hemophilia and its treatment are never revealed.

William Moulton Marston first introduced the super heroine character Wonder Woman in the 1941 DC Comics ALL-STAR COMICS #3. Mayfly, the fictional character with hemophilia, appears in the September 1993 (Vol. 2, #78) and the November 1993 (Vol. 2, #80) issues of DC Comics titled Wonder Woman.

Harmon Furmintz

Harmon Furmintz is only 15 when he graduates from Stanford University. Because of his biochemical genius, he is considered a prodigy – even superhuman. In 1940, Harmon becomes a candidate for a top-secret military project, but is rejected because he has a genetic deficiency: hemophilia. This rejection hurts his pride. The military project goes on to develop the super soldier named Captain America [Marvel Comics]. Harmon pursues genetic knowledge. In the 1950s, he works with Howard Stark in his biochemical division. Harmon, who is emotionally stunted, becomes the Chief Executive Officer of Genetech, at its superhuman genetic research complex in Sayville, Long Island. The company, under Harmon, develops the New Warriors, superhumans who are called “The Heroes for the 90s” with enhanced minds and bodies by biochemical, biomechanical, and biosurgical means. Furmintz continues to call himself a hemophiliac, and is afraid of being physically hurt.

The New Warriors was originally published by Marvel Comics in The New Warriors #1, #2, #3, #4 and in Thor #411, #412, then was compiled in a 1992 book by Marvel Comics titled The New Warriors: Beginnings.

Michael Morbius

Dr. Michael Morbius, winner of the Nobel Prize, is the foremost biochemist in Europe with his own laboratory. He is dying of a rare blood disease that dissolves blood cells. He conducts his research on a yacht in international waters to avoid regulators and to ensure security. His experiments with bat fluids prove to be ineffective. He combines the bat extract with electrical shock, which turns him into a living vampire who hungers for blood. Morbius now has hollow bones and underarm gliders, plus fangs, claws, and a pug nose. He leaves his girlfriend to visit the Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Morbius, who wants to quench his thirst for blood, fights with Spider-Man, a worthy adversary. The electrical shock treatment to create blood cells seems more like dated Frankenstein technology.

The Marvel antihero character Morbius has an interesting origin story that does not change much from its original 1963 telling in Marvel Comics (in Amazing Spider Man #101, #102; Marvel Two-in-One #15; Spider-Man Family #5) to its 2021 re-telling (in Morbius: Bond of Blood #1), that were compiled in the 2021 book titled Marvel-Verse: Morbius. The 2022 movie based on the comics is titled Morbius and stars Jared Leto as the title villain, plus has a supporting cast of millions of bats. The movie has updated DNA technology for genetic engineering, along with computer-generated special effects. The mixture of human DNA with vampire bat DNA into a serum, when injected into Morbius, gives him fangs and claws, plus echo location, and makes him hungry for blood. Morbius becomes a murderer in New York City. The book has a For Ages 10+ rating. The movie has a PG-13 rating.

[WARNING: Injecting vampire bat DNA is NOT a treatment for hemophilia!]

Oswald Angelone

Oswald Angelone is a pale, 20-year-old with hemophilia. His mother, who gave Oswald his name, is protective of her son. His father is Christopher Angelone, or Big Chris, the Sicilian-American mob family boss who runs his cocaine operations out of Miami. Oswald is called “Hemo.” He takes pills as treatment. There are questions regarding Oswald’s ability to eventually assume the role of Don. Big Chris sends his only son to the Central American country of Santa Morricone to assassinate El Presidente Leopoldo Luna, who supplies the cocaine. For protection, Barracuda accompanies Oswald. Barracuda decides to double-cross Big Chris for personal gain. After realizing that Big Chris does not value his son’s life, Oswald instead kills his father. But when Barracuda congratulates Oswald on becoming “Don Hemo” with a slap on the back, Oswald bleeds to death with blood gushing from his mouth.

The original Marvel comics were published as Punisher Presents: Barracuda Max #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, then compiled in the 2007 Marvel book titled The Punisher Presents Barracuda. The book has an Explicit Content warning for its language and sexual content.

Tom Morrell

Tom Morrell is a skinny, left-handed, high school senior. His single mother Brenda worries about him. Besides having hemophiliac, Tom suffers from over a dozen syndromes including diabetes, amyotrophy, and grand mal epileptic seizures. His daily routine of meds includes refrigerated shots and pills. Tom, who wears a special wrist alarm, is called “Gimp” at school. He awkwardly meets a new student named Angela Dirst, but he cannot express his feelings. When Tom is struck by a Mack truck, he first feels tired, then gains superpowers. So he claims, “I’m cured.” He wants to be a superhero, and even tries on a spandex suit. When Angela punches Tom in the nose for spying into her bedroom window, he bleeds. He falls, separates his shoulder, and fractures his collarbone. Brenda does some research to speculate that Tom’s body absorbs energy from crashes, then uses that energy to fight his diseases. She suggests that Tom allow a truck to run over his arms. With his arms in casts, Tom has lunch with Angela.

In this 2005 DC comics graphic novel titled Kinetic, the protagonist reads a copy of Kinetic, wishing for superpowers. He is an adolescent with hemophilia who is uncomfortable talking to young females. There is no mention of factor concentrate to treat his hemophilia, or Sharp’s containers for his used syringes. Dealing with high school has more than enough problems for any adolescent.

[WARNING: Being hit by a truck is NOT a treatment for hemophilia!]

PART 2 in two weeks!

References:

Jose Aguilar, Jovenes vampiros. El códice secreto. versos y trazos, 2007.

Anonymous, Stellar Guardians. Genentech, 2025.

Scott Beatty, Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Princess. DC Comics, 2003.

Simon Boulerice et Eve Patenaude, Papier Bulle. Alice Jeunesse, 2023.

Kim Chilman-Blair and Shawn DeLoache, What’s Up with Louis? Medikidz Explain Haemophilia. Medikidz, 2011.

Garth Ennis, The Punisher Presents Barracuda. Marvel, 2007.

Jennifer Grunwald, Marvel-Verse: Morbius. Marvel, 2021.

Fabian Nicieza and Tom DeFalco, The New Warriors: Beginnings. Marvel, 1992.

Frederick Peeters and Pierre Oscar Levy, Sandcastle. SelfMadeHero, 2011.

Kelley Puckett and Warren Pleece, Kinetic. DC Comics, 2005.

TV Doctors and Hemophilia

Laurie Kelley August 2, 2026

When I was growing up, “Emergency” was one of my favorite TV shows. On July 9, one of the stars, Randolph Mantooth, passed away at age 80. He seemed beloved by all. I wondered if hemophilia was ever addressed in the show. This made me think of this excellent article, “Television Doctors Treating Hemophilia” by our archivist Richard Atwood of North Carolina in a 2020 issue of PEN. Enjoy!

In the 1960s, highly rated primetime medical dramas contributed to the rising popularity of network television viewing. Between 1950 and 1980, there were 55 drama primetime series involving physicians on the three major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC). Many of these series had medical advisors on the set; plus, they had endorsements from medical societies. Viewers had high expectations for the accurate depiction of any medical problems, all embedded within a compelling storyline.

These television doctor half-hour or hour-long dramas eerily followed the same script-writing formula: the cast included an older physician and a younger physician, surrounded by an assortment of minor characters. Rather than foster a mentoring relationship, the older and younger doctors experienced dramatic conflict: for example, experienced versus neophyte, or humane versus scientific. The medical dramas also provided some mystery: Could the physicians correctly diagnose and successfully treat the difficult medical condition introduced each week?

Fictional physicians, portrayed by famous actors, treated patients with hemophilia in a few of these evening broadcasts. A critical look back at some of these television doctor dramas offers another perspective on the history of bleeding disorders.

Dr. Kildare

Frederick Schiller Faust, writing as Max Brand, introduced the fictional Dr. James Kildare in a Cosmopolitan short story in 1936. Subsequent serialized short stories about Dr. Kildare appeared in pulp magazines. Paramount released a Dr. Kildare movie in 1937. Then Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought the rights to the popular Kildare character, and released nine Dr. Kildare movies and six Dr. Gillespie movies between 1938 and 1947. Lew Ayres starred in the Kildare role, with Lionel Barrymore as the older Dr. Gillespie. Ayres and Barrymore continued their roles in the The Story of Dr. Kildare radio broadcast on the MGM network for 80 episodes from 1949 to 1951.

Radio was still a popular medium when the “Mysterious Hemophiliac Patient” episode was broadcast on May 18, 1951. At Blair Hospital, Dr. Kildare and Dr. Gillespie evaluate an anonymous patient who is found to have pyloric cancer, along with undisclosed hemophilia. The patient is an abdicated king from a small European country. Presurgical treatment includes ovarian extract capsules for two weeks, plus an intramuscular injection of 30 cc of fresh blood serum. During surgery, the patient receives direct blood transfusions. The hemophilia proves to be a greater problem than the cancer, but the patient successfully recovers from the surgery. This treatment for hemophilia was more appropriate during the 1930s, yet inappropriate in the 1950s when more effective blood products, such as fresh frozen plasma or Fraction I, were used.

Richard Chamberlain as Jimmy Kildare, and Raymond Massey as Leonard Gillespie revived the Dr. Kildare series on television from 1961 to 1966. In 190 episodes during five seasons, NBC aired the award-winning MGM television Dr. Kildare series on Thursday nights. Apparently this popular Dr. Kildare never treated a patient with hemophilia.

Medic

NBC broadcast the award-winning television medical drama Medic for 59 episodes over two seasons, from 1954 to 1956. The 30-minute program was filmed in black and white. It was the first television medical drama to focus on medical procedures. Richard Boone starred as Dr. Konrad Styner. In “A Time to Be Alive,” the episode broadcast on January 31, 1955, 11-year-old Davey Stinson falls off his bike and bumps his knee. Due to his hemophilia, Davey spends two weeks in the hospital, where he receives four pints of blood and a leg brace. Recovering at home, Davey falls and cuts himself with broken glass. Back in the hospital, Davey receives two units of antihemophilic plasma and six units of fresh blood. His physicians worry that Davey might develop antibodies and “become refractory” (now called having inhibitors) to the fresh blood and plasma. Meantime, Davey’s untested sister worries that she might be a hemophilia carrier. Davey recovers and becomes an honor student. This hemophilia treatment was appropriate for 1954, though the amount of blood given is worrisome for circulatory overload.

Ben Casey

In direct competition with Dr. Kildare, ABC broadcast 153 episodes of the award-winning Ben Casey series on Wednesday evenings during five seasons, from 1961 to 1966. Vince Edwards played Dr. Ben Casey, while Sam Jaffe was the older Dr. David Zorba. Unfortunately, Dr. Casey never treated a patient with hemophilia. Yet National Hemophilia Foundation chose Vince Edwards—often mistaken by the public to be a real doctor—as their celebrity spokesperson.

Marcus Welby, M.D.

ABC aired the award-winning Marcus Welby, M.D. for 169 episodes on Tuesdays over seven seasons, from 1969 to 1976. The hour-long popular program, rated number 1 in its second season, was filmed in color. The American Academy of General Practice endorsed the series. Robert Young starred as Dr. Marcus Welby, while James Brolin played the younger Dr. Steve Kiley. In “The Daredevil Gesture” episode, broadcast March 17, 1970, 17-year-old Larry Bellows is a high school senior who doesn’t want his classmates to know that he has hemophilia. Larry is hospitalized about four times a year for his hemophilia, and treated with AHF (antihemophilic factor) injections. His mother, suffering from guilt, is overprotective. His sister, though never carrier tested, refuses to ever have any children. Larry defies his mother to attend a science club hike into the California canyons. He hemorrhages into his left knee while assisting a classmate with a broken ankle. Dr. Kiley rushes to the canyon with concentrate and plasma to treat Larry, who finally admits to his classmates that he has hemophilia. This episode focuses on the psychological dilemma of an adolescent with hemophilia who strives for normalcy by overcompensating with reckless behavior.

All bleeding disorders are considered rare. The popular medical dramas broadcast on network television from 1950 to 1980 rarely used hemophilia as an interesting disease of the week. This is surprising, knowing how the misconception of bleeding to death due to hemophilia has so often been used as a plot enhancer by fiction writers. The fictional doctors on television acted more like role models, often in dramatic tension with other doctors, rather than as cooperative medical mentors to each other. Their sometimes inappropriate hemophilia treatments highlight the fact that the bleeding disorder community needed better treatment, namely through government-funded comprehensive care at hemophilia treatment centers staffed by a multidisciplinary team of medical specialists. Regrettably, televised medical dramas never showed the important advancement in hemophilia treatment that arrived in the 1970s.

Publication: PEN 2.20

Motorcycles and Hemophilia

Laurie Kelley July 19, 2026

I grew up in a motorcycle family. Each of my six brothers had one; my father always had one, since he was a young man, and my uncle has owned and operated Hogan’s Cycle Shop in Agawam, Massachusetts for over 71 years. Motorcycles were a way of life in my household, and I even rode them at one point.

But we always knew they could be dangerous. Two of my brothers were in serious accidents that left lingering injuries.

Imagine having to use a motorcycle when you have hemophilia in a developing country. It’s a common and cheaper way to get around, especially when there are massive traffic jams in megacities like Delhi and Karachi. Helmets often are not required, and traffic can be gnarly—and dangerous.

We recently funded surgery for a twenty-one-year old with hemophilia B from India. The Siliguri Hemophilia Society, a chapter in India, requested help for Dwip Biswas, from Alipurdwar, West Bengal. On June 17 he suffered a road accident and sustained multiple traumatic injuries including a shattered femur bone, facial fractures, a nasal bone fracture and brain hemorrhage. He was admitted to Anandaloke Multispeciality Hospital, Siliguri, West Bengal. Dwip required multidisciplinary management involving orthopedics, neurosurgery, maxillofacial Surgery, and hematology, due to the complexity of injuries and the underlying bleeding disorder.

The treatment center estimated $5,500 for his surgery and further management. Dwip belongs to a very poor family. He’s in his second year of studies at school. His father is a vegetable farmer, his mother is a housewife and he has a married sister. It was impossible for his family to arrange such a huge amount. Sujata Minda, Secretary of the Siliguri Hemophilia Society, made a request to us, and we gladly helped. The Chennai Hemophilia Chapter helped arrange clotting factor.

Despite all his serious injuries, Dwip pulled through. Thanks to his medical team, and the Siliguri and Chennai chapters for their support. And thank to all of you, our readers. By checking our blog, and accepting our e-newsletter and ads, you indirectly support all our efforts to help those in need of surgery overseas.