In the wake of the inaccurate information about hemophilia in the March 15 episode of the ABC television show Secrets and Lies, I’ve been contacted by multiple members of our community about this grossly erroneous portrayal of hemophilia. I thought I’d take a moment to sound off on this.
On the March 15 episode of Secrets and Lies, a character in the show refers to hemophilia as “a nasty byproduct of incest.” As a person who has lived with hemophilia for nearly 47 years, I find it offensive, negligent and unconscionable that ABC would dare allow such a grossly inaccurate statement about hemophilia.
I read comments on public feeds about this issue from people outside the hemophilia community who said things like, “It’s just TV. Don’t be so sensitive.”
So, why is this a big deal to us? Our community has fought judgment & misinformation since the 1980s, and blood safety is what it is today because of the hemophilia community. We saw our community decimated during that time due to tainted blood products administered to us that were infected with HIV and hepatitis C. We lost tens of thousands of our community members who contracted one or both. My oldest brother was one of the victims. He died in 1991 at the age of 38. I completed treatment for hepatitis C a year ago this month. I contracted it through tainted products used to treat my hemophilia during that time.
And we have many children in our community trying to live manageable and regular lives despite hemophilia. We’ve encouraged them to be open with their peers and educate them on what hemophilia is and what it means. Now their parents have to tell their child that hemophilia is NOT a “nasty byproduct of incest,” as ABC and the Secrets and Lies writers so inaccurately claim. NO child should ever have to be in that position! For that matter, NO PERSON living with a bleeding disorder should be put in that position of having to clarify this.
Lastly, we are a minority in the United States and across the globe, with only approximately 20,000 Americans living with hemophilia and hundreds of thousands worldwide.
We don't need ABC spreading lies and untruths about hemophilia to the 7,000,000 viewers of this show. (Yes, SEVEN MILLION.)
I stand united with my blood brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers of children living with bleeding disorders, family and friends of those living with bleeding disorders, the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) and the Hemophilia Federation of America.
Efforts are underway across the country to let ABC know how this harms our community, and we urge everyone to add their voices.
NHF has issued a statement, and HFA has issued a press release.
You, too, can get involved in telling ABC Television how you feel about this issue. An online contact form allows the public to provide feedback about their programming. Let them know that you are a person with a bleeding disorder, or that you are a relative or friend of a person with a bleeding disorder.
Let them know how spreading this kind of misinformation hurts you and people you care about.
Let them know that a prompt public apology and a genuine effort to mitigate the damage they have caused are expected.
And use Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites to alert your friends and family.