Hundreds of hemophilia advocates and survivors will come together at the National AIDS Memorial to dedicate the Hemophilia Memorial Circle, a beautifully designed permanent feature built to forever honor all the lives lost in the hemophilia community to AIDS.
During a dedication ceremony, the names of the first loved ones whose names will appear in the Hemophilia Memorial Circle will be read aloud and red roses placed in the memorial in their honor. The names include family members, friends, supporters and loved ones in the Hemophilia community who lost their lives to AIDS. Each name will be inscribed in the memorial over the next month and included as part of World AIDS Day ceremonies on December 1st.
The Hemophilia Memorial Circle consists of a new stone circle and surrounding landscape with benches inscribed with the names of those in the hemophilia community who have died from AIDS. It also pays tribute to the courage and activism of those who worked tirelessly on behalf of the hemophilia community to ensure America’s blood supply is safe and that the tragedy they lived through never happens again.
The completion of the Hemophilia Memorial Circle at the National AIDS Memorial forever brings the hemophilia and gay communities together, bound by their common stories of fear, prejudice, loss and hope.
The National AIDS Memorial partnered with the Hemophilia Federation of America and the National Hemophilia Foundation to build the Hemophilia Memorial Circle, which serves as a place where the community can grieve and remember those lost during the early days of the AIDS epidemic. For more information on the Hemophilia Memorial Circle at the National AIDS Memorial and how to have a name inscribed, visit www.aidsmemorial.org/hemophilia.
WHEN: Saturday, September 16, 2017
- 9:00 a.m. Hemophilia advocates and survivors plant the last flowers and shrubs for the Hemophilia Memorial Circle before dedication ceremony
- 11:45 a.m. Official dedication ceremony with reading of first names to be inscribed in the memorial and red roses placed in honor of those in the hemophilia community lost to AIDS
WHERE: The National AIDS Memorial (the “Grove”)
Eastern end of Golden Gate Park at the intersection of Bowling Green & Nancy Pelosi Drives
WHO: Leaders, advocates and survivors in the hemophiliac and HIV/AIDS communities sharing their personal stories, including:
Kimberly Haugstad, President & CEO, Hemophilia Federation of America
Val Bias, CEO, National Hemophilia Foundation
John Cunningham, Executive Director, National AIDS Memorial
Mike Shriver, Chair, National AIDS Memorial
Dawn Pollard, President, Hemophilia Foundation of Northern California
Bobby Wiseman, survivor and Co-Director, Camp Hemotion and Community Advocate
VISUALS: Dedication of Hemophilia Memorial Circle, planting of final shrubs at the memorial, reading of the first names to be inscribed in the memorial and laying of roses, personal stories of survivors and advocates
Hemophilia is a genetic condition that prevents a person’s blood from clotting. Common sites of bleeding are muscles and internal joints and organs, including the brain, which can cause injury and death.
In the 1980s, the hemophilia community’s lifeline was a medicine – clotting factor – derived from a large and diverse blood supply. It was only after people with hemophilia began to be diagnosed with HIV that they realized the blood supply was tainted. Eventually, 90% of people with severe hemophilia were infected with HIV from contaminated factor.
Cries for help were met with silence from drug corporations and the federal government. People with the disease were left to fight this fight on their own, and they have served as the guardians of the nation’s blood supply ever since.
This year marks nearly thirty years since the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act was signed into law, creating the most extensive federal program that provides services exclusively to people living with HIV. Ryan White, a person with hemophilia whose story captivated our nation and the world, never lived to see passage of the new law, but his bravery, courage and heart will never be forgotten. His mother, Jeanne White-Ginder, a prominent activist and supporter of both the hemophilia and HIV/AIDS communities, was a strong advocate for the new memorial.
