Von Willebrand
- A person with von Willebrand disease (VWD) or a platelet disorder will
have trouble making a platelet plug. Some people with von Willebrand
Disease (VWD) also have trouble making a fibrin clot because they do
not have enough factor VIII. Without a platelet plug, blood will
continue to leak from the blood vessel. In time, the body can make a
fibrin clot to stop the bleeding but it will not be as strong as a clot
that had a good platelet plug.
- If a person’s platelets have trouble sticking to the wall of an injured
blood vessel, he or she has an adhesion disorder. If the platelets do
not stick well to each other, it is an aggregation disorder. If the
platelets do not release the chemicals that signal other platelets to
join in making the plug, it is a secretion disorder.
- This was sourced from The VWD & Platelet Disorder Handbook, 2007 (page 9)