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A Decade of Growth You, the bleeding disorders community, will always be my
family. While I now will be working in global rare disease, my
Over the last decade, HFA has grown dramatically. The three heart will always have this community in it.
employees in 2008 are now 34 and our 26 affiliated member
organizations are now 50. Each member organization, no We truly are lucky in bleeding disorders to have the active
matter their size, has a voice on our board. peer support networks that other rare diseases dream of.
Remember to invest your time personally to stay connected
HFA’s direct connection to bleeding disorder families has with each other. Many of our bleeding disorders have one or
grown from a few thousand to more than 20,000 strong, and more treatments. This is something that other diseases also
our budget has more than quadrupled. Our advocacy work is ache to have. We also have organizations that support us,
formidable and bleeding disorders is recognized nationally please support them!
as a disease group that can truly accomplish what we set out
to do. I could take an entire Dateline to appreciate, recognize and
thank everyone if I could. In lieu of the pages and pages it
What hasn’t changed at HFA is why we are here. HFA is and would take, please know that if you are reading this, it is
always will be about our community. Period, end of story. meant for you. My thanks. My appreciation. My love. My best
We do not compromise on that commitment.
to you. S
My years at HFA have taught me many personal and
professional life lessons. More than anything, I learned
patience. I try anyway, but that is still a work in progress!

Our history is long and filled with challenges. While I will
never truly understand what it is like to be a survivor of
the factor contamination tragedy, I became committed to
preserving our history. I deeply believe it is every community
member’s right and responsibility to know our history. It is not
pretty, but it is our collective history. I am so honored to have
worked with our team to donate artifacts to the Smithsonian
to preserve our history. We will not be forgotten.

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