The EHC Belgian National Member Organisation, AHVH, has recently welcomed new board members, including a new President, Mrs Sarah De Witte. We want to introduce Mrs De Witte to the community in this newsletter edition. Please join us in welcoming Mrs De Witte to her new role. 


As the new president, I would like to introduce myself briefly. My name is Sarah De Witte. In the past, I studied social work, criminology and law. I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful son. We live in Ghent, and I work as a lawyer. I like baking bread, gingerbread and cakes in my spare time. I also like swimming and jogging.

In 2009, I had a son suffering from severe haemophilia A. A few weeks after the diagnosis, I contacted the Belgian association. Over the years, the association has always provided the necessary support, information and answers to our questions.

In addition to information and answers, the association supported us through contact with fellow patients. Sharing your experiences with others as a parent and someone with a blood clotting disorder is extremely valuable.

Herman De Smet and Patrick Finders-Binje left an indelible mark. They created the organisation’s ethos that strived to be inclusive and participatory and founded itself on connecting with the community and allowing everyone involved to grow with it. We evolve with our association by sharing our experiences and listening to each other. We inform we support, we listen, … to each other.

As an association, we bring together all patients with bleeding disorders who share common concerns. We represent, defend our treatment, inform, provide health education and support scientific research.

As president of our association, I want to commit myself to each of you so that the quality of life of people with haemophilia, von Willebrand’s disease and other bleeding disorders is guaranteed and can improve.

With you, our association can and will grow in the future. Many bleeding disorders are rare disorders. It is important that together we make our voice heard vis-à-vis all stakeholders with whom we come into contact, such as government agencies, health insurance, pharmaceutical companies, doctors, health care providers, …

Do not hesitate to contact me or the association with any questions.

With warm thanks, 

Sarah De Witte

To read further about the changes within the Belgian NMO (in Flemish or French), please head to the AHVH website.