Supported by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), hemophilia awareness day was first established in 1989. The date of 17th April was chosen to honor Frank Schnabel the founder of WFH, whose birthday falls on the same date.
Hemophilia is a condition in which bleeding us prolonged. Hemophilia is a condition present from birth and is normally inherited; you can’t ‘catch, hemophilia or pass it on to others. In some rare instances, hemophilia may develop later in life (typically affecting people in the 50+ age group). 

The incidence of hemophilia is quite low. Statistics on the incidence of hemophilia vary however, it is estimated that in the United States 1 in every 5,000 -10,000 people are born with it.
When a person without hemophilia bleeds, normal levels of clotting factor, a protein in the blood, causes the blood to clot and stops the bleeding. However, hemophiliacs (people with hemophilia) have lower levels of clotting factor in the the blood and bleeding continues for much longer periods.

Source: Text & image: www.whathealth.com