Von Willebrand factor (vWF or VWF) is a protein that is one of several components of the coagulation system that work together, and in sequence, to stop bleeding.
VWF facilitates platelet clumping at sites of damage/bleeding at blood vessels and also influences the availability of the coagulation factor VIII. VWF carries factor VIII in the blood, increases its half-life, and releases it as necessary. If the amount of functional VWF is insufficient, blood clot formation takes longer, therefore causing prolonged bleeding. This deficiency causes a condition referred to as von Willebrand disease (VWD).
VWD is the most common inherited bleeding disorder. It is a group of conditions associated with prolonged bleeding due to deficient and/or defective VWF.
