Bleeding Disorders in Women – How to recognise, diagnose and manage

Prof. Rezan Abdul-Kadir is a consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, specialised in haemostatic disorders in women. She trained in obstetrics and gynaecology in London and accomplished an MD degree from University of London for her thesis on inherited bleeding disorders in women. She started the first Joint multi-disciplinary clinic for women with bleeding disorders in 2002 and has been leading the service at Katharine Dormandy Haemophilia Centre at the Royal Free hospital. The clinic is internationally renowned for its model of care, its research output in the field and as an international training centre. Her extensive research publications have provided evidence for the prevalence and variety of women’s bleeding disorders and their management, which have established an entire new subspecialty for provision of comprehensive care to this large group of women. She led several national and international guidelines and co-authored a book entitled “Inherited Bleeding Disorders in Women” first edition published in 2009; second edition in 2019. She is currently leading several multi-disciplinary research projects collaborating with international academic teams and scientists in the field of bleeding disorders in women. She has given presentations at numerous international congresses and has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications. In addition to research and setting the service model, Prof. Rezan Abdul-Kadir has been in the forefront of advocacy for women’s issues in families with bleeding disorders. She led the establishment of “Women Bleed Too project” with the UK Haemophilia society in 2005; and has been chair /member of its medical advisory board since then. This project has become a model for increasing awareness and promoting wellbeing of women and has been replicated in the USA, Canada and in most of Europe.  She also plays a leading role in international medical societies, patients’ organisations and NGOs advocating women’s health issues in thrombosis and haemostasis. She is a co-founder and chair/co-chair of committees on women’s health for International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, World Federation of Hemophilia and European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders.

Dr Sarah O’Brien is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.  She leads a multi-disciplinary young women’s hematology clinic at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.  Her clinical and research interests include the evaluation and diagnosis of mild bleeding disorders and the intersections between hematology and women’s health. 

Dr Michelle Lavin is a Consultant Haematologist in the National Coagulation Centre in St. James’ Hospital, Ireland and a Principal Investigator in the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology in RCSI. She serves as a Co-Chair on the Von Willebrand Factor Scientific Subcommittee of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) and on the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders (EAHAD) Women and Bleeding Disorders Committee. Dr Lavin’s research focuses on improving diagnosis and care for women with bleeding disorders and the management of Von Willebrand Disease.

Debra Pollard is Lead Nurse Specialist, Advanced Nurse Practitioner at Katharine Dormandy Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK. Debra is also Director of Education at Haemnet, a member of the European Haemophilia Consortium’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Group, the UK’s Haemophilia Society as well a member of the Women and Bleeding Disorders Working Group of the EAHAD.

Roseline d’Oiron is a Clinician Investigator and Associate Director at the the Reference Centre for Haemophilia and Rare Congenital Bleeding Disorders at Bicêtre Hospital AP-HP and University of Paris-Saclay, France. She is also responsible for Specialist training for the master’s degree in haematology at University Paris VII. She is the current elected president of the Steering Committee of the FranceCoag Network, a national registry of bleeding disorders, a member of the European Haemophilia Consortium’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Group and a member of the Women and Bleeding Disorders Working Group of the EAHAD.

After graduating in medicine, Dr Karin van Galen was trained in the field of internal medicine. She completed her specialisation as a hematologist in 2011 after which she was appointed as Consultant Hematologist at the Department Van Creveldkliniek of the UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands. Here she has expanded her clinical experience in the treatment of patients with benign hematological conditions. In addition to patient care Karin van Galen finished a PhD project on joint bleeding in Von Willebrand disease in November 2017 and currently participates in several (inter)national studies on congenital bleeding disorders. Currently she runs a post-doc research project on pregnancy in inherited bleeding disorders and (co)supervises two PhD students.