HemophiliaMoms.com

My son Alex has used several factor products for his severe hemophilia A. He started using Helixate^® FS about three-and-a-half years ago, after a knee bleed. When Kristin was diagnosed with mild hemophilia A, her doctor prescribed Helixate^® FS and another CSL Behring product for mild hemophilia A.

All the products worked to stop their bleeds, but we like Helixate^® FS a lot because it doesn’t “foam up” when reconstituted, and there is less liquid to infuse. So overall, it saves time. Another reason we like Helixate^® FS is because CSL Behring has such a strong commitment to the hemophilia community, including a great program to assist patients in getting factor if they have a lapse in their health insurance (CSL Behring Assurance)To me, that says CSL Behring puts its patients and their families first.

If I'm most proud of one thing that we did in raising the kids, it was teaching them to understand all of their options, then make well-informed choices. I'm a firm believer that you should always provide your kids with access to information. Whenever there's a product change, regardless of the company, I provide Peter with that information. He is 25 now, so while I can still offer advice and make suggestions, I can't dictate his actions.

I think Peter made a very well-informed decision when he changed to Helixate^® FS.

Since it was totally Peter's choice to switch to Helixate^® FS, I can't tell you what all his reasons were. But I know he looked at all the literature on the different products available and made a conscious decision to switch. Since Peter has been on Helixate^® FS, he's very happy with the way his bleeds resolve, plus the decrease he's seen in breakthrough bleeding.

However, we've found that being comfortable with the pharmaceutical company can be just as important as being comfortable and happy with the actual product, and Peter has a high comfort level with both. The manufacturer of Helixate^® FS has always provided a very strong support system, from the old days when the company was Armour, going right through to CSL Behring. The people there have always been extremely helpful. Actually, some have become integral parts of our family unit, especially when the kids were younger. It's those strong ties that keep us connected and I believe, in part, brought Peter back to their product.

People at CSL Behring are always willing to make themselves available to us, and are strong advocates within the hemophilia community. With this level of dedication, I truly believe that they care enough about my child's needs to not only put everything they can into the development of a quality product but to support the people who use that product. If you don't have the back-up system like this, you're only halfway there. You need to have the support network. And CSL Behring supplies the support network.