Donald E. Colburn, founder, president and CEO of American Homecare Federation, Inc. (AHF),
died July 17 in Suffield, Conn., of complications from lung cancer. He was 55 years old. Colburn
had severe hemophilia A and was a lifelong advocate for people with bleeding disorders.

In 1989, Colburn and his wife, Kathy Keenan, founded American Homecare Federation, Inc., a
Connecticut-based national homecare company providing factor products and support services
through its “pharmacy disease management program.” Kathy died on May 5. 

Colburn was actively involved in all facets of the bleeding disorders community. He served as a
volunteer, then president and eventually executive director of the New England Hemophilia
Association, a chapter of the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF). Over the years, he served
on several NHF committees. In the 1990s, Colburn chaired the committee for “It’s Time for
Cure,” NHF’s fundraising campaign promoting research for a cure for bleeding disorders. He
was also a member of the Blood Safety Working Group from 2000-2003.

Colburn served on a handful of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committees,
among them the CDC Care Standards Committee and the Hemophilia/HIV Treatment Center
Compliance Site Visit program. On a global level, he served as a consultant to the president of
the World Federation of Hemophilia.

Colburn was a generous supporter of numerous organizations and people in the bleeding
disorders community. Through AHF, he donated $650,000 in corporate funds to NHF’s “It’s
Time for a Cure” campaign. He also provided support to NHF chapters and to NHF’s research
endeavors, such as the Judith Graham Pool Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Bleeding
Disorders. In addition, AHF sponsored camping and educational scholarships for children and
teens with bleeding disorders.

An online guest book has been established for Donald Colburn. Add your contribution—a
favorite anecdote, memory or tribute>> .