Surviving Hemophilia

Cees Smit, was born with hemophilia almost seventy years ago. No one expected him to survive long into adulthood, much less old age, but despite that prognosis he has lived a full life. The successes and failures in the field of treatments for hemophilia during the past decades, have led to his work today as a lobbyist for patients’ rights and the improvement of patients’ position in the healthcare system. Of particular interest to Smit is the issue of large-scale trade in human blood plasma—a topic he has discussed in various publications since 1979, and one that became especially critical during the AIDS crisis. Covering the history of hemophilia, hepatitis, and HIV, and our attempts to treat and cure them, Surviving Hemophilia also serves as a call for our health care systems to return to their traditional ideals of altruism, self-sufficiency, unity, and solidarity.