CDC Supports Bleeding Disorders Awareness

Support March as Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month. Take Red Tie Challenge.

On March 1st, staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Blood Disorders donned red ties in a show of support for the first-ever Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month™.

"Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month," was recently approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a National Health Observance in March. This new health observance formalizes and expands upon the event designated by President Ronald Reagan exactly 30 years ago as "Hemophilia Awareness Month." This special month aims to bring together people with all inherited (conditions that run in families) bleeding disorders to raise awareness of these rare conditions and their potential health problems.

What are bleeding disorders and how many people are affected by them?

The bleeding disorders community includes more than three million Americans who have hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, and other rare bleeding disorders (called rare factor deficiencies). All of these conditions prevent the blood from clotting the way that it should, and can result in prolonged bleeding after injury, surgery, or physical trauma. They can even be deadly if not treated correctly.

CDC employees participating in Red Tie Challenge

CDC took the Red Tie Challenge. Will you?

What is the Red Tie Challenge?

The Red Tie Challenge is a movement created by the bleeding disorders community and the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) to start a conversation about inherited bleeding disorders, and support March 2016 as the first Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month. The red tie is a symbol of the blood ties that bind over 3 million Americans together.

CDC took the Red Tie Challenge and encourages you to do the same! It's easy! Just follow the 4 simple steps below

Accept the Challenge and get a red tie.
Get creative and show how you wear that tie!
Record your best tie look while pledging to support March as Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month, and challenge a few friends to do the same.
Post your picture or video with #RedTieChallenge.

Where can you find more information on the Red Tie Challenge and how to get involved?

For more information on the Red Tie Challenge visit redtiechallenge.org which serves as the Red Tie Challenge movement's official home on the Internet. Among other features, it includes an infographic and videos on how to take the challenge, as well as profiles of community members, including Alex Borstein, best known as the voice of "Lois Griffin" on the Family Guy. Alex is a carrier of a genetic alteration that causes hemophilia and she also has a daughter with mild hemophilia.

How else can you help raise awareness of bleeding disorders?

Take part in the Red Tie Challenge Thunderclap! Visit the 2016 Red Tie Challenge and sign up via your Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr accounts. Then on April 17, which is World Hemophilia Day, the message "Take the #NHF #RedTieChallenge to support all people living with bleeding disorders redtiechallenge.org http://thndr.me/RzdR7A " will be mass-shared via your social media feeds.
Visit the Hemophilia Federation of America's website to change your Facebook and Twitter profile pictures to show your Red Tie Challenge support, or to download and send an educational card to your friends.
Share our videos on hemophilia and von Willebrand disease, and our Flickr Album containing personal stories of people affected by hemophilia, and the added challenge of having an inhibitor.
Follow @CDC_NCBDDD and retweet messages about CDC resources available to people with bleeding disorders.
Visit our webpages on hemophilia, women with bleeding disorders, and von Willebrand disease to learn more about bleeding disorders.