WOUNDING from a fall or bump is a part of life for most children, but it is something haemophiliacs cannot afford.
Most of us would not be too concerned about minor wounds, knowing they would be healed by our biological mechanism. With deficient blood clotting factors, however, the lives of haemophiliacs are threatened by such injuries.
The special attention needed to prevent haemophiliacs from bleeding has barred them from enjoying activities of their peers. And the extra care adds a constant physical and psychological burden to the parents of these children.
Contracting an incurable disease was not only a double-blow for the infected haemophiliacs, but also a life-long nightmare for their families. To make things worse, the over-zealous and somewhat misleading labelling of AIDS in our society has made it a triple penalty for haemophiliacs who have contracted the HIV virus through receiving contaminated blood products.
Through no fault of their own, they are born with an incurable disease; have contracted a deadly disease; and have become outcasts - all without understanding why.
The 61 HIV-infected haemophiliacs in Hongkong are believed to have contracted the virus through receiving transfusions of blood or blood products before screening techniques were introduced in the territory in 1985. Of them, 26 were children when they tested positive. Fifteen are under 18.