Which statement about hemophilia is correct?

• A. Patients with hemophilia may bleed spontaneously.
• B. Approximately 25% of the population has hemophilia.
• C. Hemophilia is defined as a total lack of platelets.
• D. Hemophiliacs take aspirin to enhance blood clotting.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that bleeding in hemophilia can occur without any injury. Hemophilia is a deficiency of specific clotting factors (factor VIII in hemophilia A, factor IX in hemophilia B) within the coagulation cascade. Because these factors are missing or low, the body’s ability to form a stable clot after even minor or unnoticed trauma is impaired, so spontaneous bleeding—especially into joints and muscles—can occur, particularly in more severe cases.

This is why the statement about spontaneous bleeding is correct. The other options don’t fit because:

• Hemophilia is a rare inherited bleeding disorder, not something present in about a quarter of the population.

• It is not a condition of total platelet absence; platelets are typically normal, but the clotting factors are deficient.

• Aspirin would worsen bleeding by inhibiting platelets, and is not a treatment for hemophilia; management focuses on replacing the missing clotting factors or using other agents to promote clotting.