Bleeding Disorders

Bleeding disorders are a group of conditions that result when the blood cannot clot properly. In normal clotting, platelets, a type of blood cell, stick together and form a plug at the site of an injured blood vessel. Proteins in the blood called clotting factors then interact to form a fibrin clot, essentially a gel plug, which holds the platelets in place and allows healing to occur at the site of the injury while preventing blood from escaping the blood vessel. The inability to form clots can be dangerous, as it can result in excessive or prolonged bleeding. Bleeding can result from either too few or abnormal platelets, abnormal or low amounts of clotting proteins, or abnormal blood vessels.