If you ride a skateboard or play a sport, you probably know
about bruises and banged-up knees and elbows. But for people
with a rare bleeding disorder called hemophilia (pronounced:
hee-muh-fih-lee-uh), what might seem like minor cuts and bruises
can be a big deal. What Is Hemophilia? Hemophilia is a disease
that prevents blood from clotting properly, so a person who has
it bleeds more than someone without hemophilia does. It's a
genetic disorder, which means it's the result of a change in
genes that was either inherited (passed on from parent to child)
or occurred during development in the womb. A person who has
hemophilia has a tendency to bleed excessively. Hemophilia
affects mostly guys, although it's not common: Only about 1 in
every 5,000-10,000 boys is born with it. In rare cases, girls
can have the disease and get bleeding problems similar to the
ones boys have. The disease can affect people of any race or
nationality. When most people get a cut, the body naturally
protects itself. Sticky cells in the