16/04/2026
My name is Ruan Malan. I’m a second-year medical student, and I live with severe haemophilia A.
My story began just five days after I was born, when I suffered a massive intracranial haemorrhage. Within hours, I was in the ICU, needed a blood transfusion, and spent seven days on a ventilator. On day six, I was diagnosed with severe haemophilia A.
My first year of life was anything but typical. Instead of routine baby check-ups, my days were filled with hospital visits and intravenous treatments.
When I was three years old, everything changed. Instead of waiting for bleeds to happen, we started preventing them. My mom began giving me factor VIII at home, three times a week, through a port. That shift made a huge difference in my life.
In grade 7, I learned how to administer my treatment myself through the port - and that gave me something I hadn’t experienced before: freedom. For the first time, I could go on a school trip to the South Coast on my own, because I could manage my condition.
By grade 8, I learned how to access my veins, and the port was no longer needed. What I’ve come to realise is this: haemophilia doesn’t mean life stops.
Because I was diagnosed early and had access to good medical care, I was able to live a relatively normal life. It wasn’t always easy, and I had to adapt along the way, but I learned something important - I am not haemophilia, I simply live with it.
On World Haemophilia Day, I hope that every child born with haemophilia receives an early diagnosis and has access to the right care and treatment, just as I did.
