Positive Diaries

Hassan Shah

Hassan Shah was born in small village near Kasur to parents Hamid Shah and Shah Bibi, and was symptomatic with an inability to clot almost immediately. However, because the family was unaware of any hemophilia in their history, local doctors had a difficult time pinpointing the problem for months. Hassan’s rare bleeding disorder diagnosis, called Hemophilia (Factor XII), came while the family was living in Kasur, 5 months later.

Told by their doctors that they should move from Kasur immediately after Hassan’s diagnosis due to factor unavailability and the legality of introducing rare medicines/products into a big city such as Lahore or Karachi, the family moved to Lahore for a short time where both Hamid Shah and Shah Bibi were diagnosed with congenital hypofibrinogenemia (low factor I levels). It occurred to them that in places like Pakistan, the mortality rate of children born into circumstances that would not allow them to receive proper medical care, would potentially be tragically high. It caused  them a great deal of concern and an eagerness  and desire to become involved in bleeding disorder outreach in small cities.