von Willebrand disease in Finland

The Finnish Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service has served as the national reference laboratory for haemostasis for more than 40 years and remains sti ll the only one in the country to diagnose inherited coagulation factor def iciencies. By September 1997, 1076 patients with von Willebrand disease (vW D) were registered. The severity of bleeding symptoms leading to diagnosis varied according to the type of vWD. After prepubertal phase distinctly mor e female than male patients were diagnosed. The prevalence of severe type 3 vWD is 4:1 000 000.