Hemophilia: A Hereditary Illness
Hemophilia is a hereditary illness that impairs a person's ability to create clots quickly enough to stop any kind of bleeding. Therefore, having the condition raises the likelihood of suffering a serious injury from open wounds, bruising, or even internal bleeding (Hemophilia of Georgia, 2012).
Inheritance and Gender Differences
Being a hereditary condition, it is inherited from parents and passed on to offspring. According to Hemophilia of Georgia (2012), it is caused by the X chromosome and primarily affects men. Due to the makeup of the XX gene chromosomes, women are known to be carriers and it is uncommon for them to actually develop the condition. The XY gene structure causes it in men.
Chromosomal Contributions and Possibilities
Given the above, it takes the female carrier to mate with a hemophiliac male in order to have a hemophiliac child. However, if the man is hemophiliac and the woman is unaffected, non-carrier, there is no chance of them having a hemophiliac male baby. Therefore, in the male child has to have the X and Y chromosomes of which the latter is from the father. Moreover, the Y chromosome does not carry the hemophilia gene (Hemophilia of Georgia, 2012) and the mother’s X chromosomes are not affected in any way. Therefore, it can only mean that the child will not be a hemophiliac.
Inheritance Scenarios and Genetic Make-up
In conclusion, the genetic disorder is only inherited when the environment favors it and that is a carrier mother and a hemophiliac father. Under the circumstances as described above, the children of the couple where the father is affected will result in carrier daughters and non-affected sons. All this has to do with the gene makeup which is XX for girls and XY for boys.
Reference
Hemophilia of Georgia (2012). How Hemophilia is inherited. Retrieved from https://www.hog.org/handbook/section/2/how-hemophilia-is-inherited
