The National Institute of Immunohaematology, Mumbai has developed a cost-effective Point-of-Care (POC) rapid diagnostic test for
Severe Haemophilia A
Von Willebrand Disease (VWD).
Patients with above 2 diseases can have life-threatening spontaneous or post-traumatic bleeding like brain hemorrhage, gastrointestinal bleeding or bleeding from the nose or gums.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) the cost of these testing kits is less than ₹50 while current kits cost around ₹4,000 to ₹10,000.
VWD
It is a genetic disorder caused by missing or defective Von Willebrand factor (VWF).
VWF is a blood-clotting protein.
When bleeding occurs the VWF helps blood platelets to mesh together and form a clot to stop the bleeding.
People with the disorder do not have enough VW Factor.
So, it takes longer for the blood to clot and for bleeding to stop.