Positive Diaries

Amir Khan

A SOFTWARE ENGINEER FROM PAKISTAN, AMIR KHAN LIVES WITH HIS WIFE AND SON IN SIDNEY, AUSTRALIA:
Coming from three generations of family living with hemophilia A, I suffered from bleeds which caused me pain from a very early age. As an active child growing up in Pakistan, my bleeds made it difficult to do everything I wanted to do. Because of where we lived, we did not have access to hemophilia specialists or genetic testing. I wasn’t officially diagnosed with hemophilia until I was 16. It was then that I started treatment with factor on-demand. While I was living in Pakistan, prophylaxis was not widely available, so I treated my hemophilia with on-demand treatment. When I moved to the Australia five years ago, I had bleeds every other day, which made me a little depressed. Eventually, I talked with my clinicians, set goals, and discussed ways for me to stay healthy. That’s when they introduced me to prophylaxis treatment.

“For me, the greatest benefit of prophylaxis treatment has been that my bleeds have been substantially reduced, even now that I am more active. I spend less time worrying about my bleeds, which helps me enjoy my life.”