Did you know that 1 in every 76 Americans is affected by a blood disorder?

That means that a simple cut or routine surgery to many could become a serious problem to that person as they have the inability to form a proper blood clot. This delay in clotting is referred to as hemophilia.

On Thursday, the Carbon County Commissioners recognized this disorder that affects approximately 3,000 in Pennsylvania, naming March as Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month in Carbon County. The awareness month coincides with the federal awareness month designated in 2016.

The proclamation stated that “bleeding disorders, which share the inability to form proper blood clot, are characterized by extended bleeding after injury, surgery, trauma or menstruation and can lead to significant morbidity and can be fatal if not treated effectively.”

There is no cure for the disorder. However, therapies, such as the injectable medication, helps replace the missing proteins and help clotting to occur if an injury happens.

In Pennsylvania, there are seven hemophilia treatment centers, including Lehigh Valley Hospital.

The Rev. Everett Upton, an advocacy ambassador for the Eastern Pennsylvania Bleeding Disorders Foundation and locally from Common Grounds Ministry in Beaver Meadows, thanked the board for recognizing this very significant issue for some residents.

He thanked the commissioners for recognizing this serious problems for some of the county residents.

“The hemophilia community has grown over the years as far as the different products and things that are available now,” Upton said. “For a lot of young people, they don’t have to face what a lot of dinosaurs (older people) had to face years ago. Sometimes it could be something as simple as getting a tooth removed or anything done. You had the risk of different diseases that normally might not impact your life.

“A lot of the children have a lot better of an outcome because of the products and things that are available.”

Upton said a new gene therapy is beginning to try to eliminate hemophilia.

“We’re in stages of that now,” he said.

Bleeding disorders require patients to receive infusions of clotting factor therapies to replace the proteins needed to prevent life-threatening bleeding associated with injury, surgery or menstruation.

The Eastern Pennsylvania Bleeding Disorders Foundation serves 41 counties in Pennsylvania in the hopes of creating a network for those with this disorder.

Other types of blood disorders include von Willebrand disease, thalassemia, sickle cell disease, thrombocytopenia and anemia, as well as other blood clotting disorders and cancers.