The CSL Behring Foundation for Research and Advancement of Patient Health awarded grants totaling more than $487,000 to 10 organizations. The grants will support education and research programs benefiting the bleeding disorders community.

A grant to the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Hemophilia Foundation in Pittsburgh will fund an outreach program to educate school nurses on von Willebrand disease so they can identify young women who may have an undiagnosed bleeding disorder.

Another research grant was awarded to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago to support the development of research into a noninvasive, relevant "marker" to predict which patients with hemophilia will develop joint disease. Appropriate treatment strategies could then be developed to help prevent irreversible joint damage in at-risk patients.

Other grant recipients include: the New England Hemophilia Association (Dedham, MA), Tennessee Hemophilia and Bleeding Disorders Foundation (Smyrna, TN), Hemophilia and von Willebrand Education Network (Erie, PA), Hemophilia Center of Western New York, Inc. (Buffalo, NY), Hemophilia of Georgia, Inc.( Atlanta, GA), STITCHES (Macomb, MI), Emory University School of Medicine (Atlanta, GA) and Puget Sound Blood Center (Seattle, WA).

The CSL foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 2001 to support charitable, scientific and educational purposes that advance the standard of care for people with bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia and von Willebrand disease. An independent advisory council with the sole authority of reviewing grants selects awardees in the two areas of scientific exploration and patient care/support.

"We are confident that with our continued support, researchers and advocates will work to improve the quality of life and care for patients who cope with these often debilitating disorders," said Garrett E. Bergman, MD, Executive Director of the CSL Behring Foundation.

Source: CSL Behring press release dated June 18, 2007