Treatment for Glanzmann’s Thrombasthenia

DDAVP® is not an effective treatment for people with GT.  Birth control pills may help some women with GT who have very heavy periods.

For severe bleeding, people with GT may be given platelets from a blood donor.  A problem can happen because the donor’s platelets will have GPIIb IIIa and the person with GT’s platelets do not.  This difference can cause the person with GT’s immune system to make antibodies against donated platelets.  If this occurs, future transfusions with platelets may not work because the antibodies will quickly destroy the donated platelets.  To help prevent this, whenever possible people with GT should only get platelets that have been filtered to remove white blood cells (leukocytes) and that have been HLA matched.

Recombinant factor VIIa (NovoSeven®) has been used to treat severe bleeding in people with GT.