Sts. Cosmas & Damian
Hemophilia Institute
Medical Research • Hemophilia & Surgical Excellence
Currently in its founding stage — Est. 2025
Medical Research • Hemophilia & Surgical Excellence
Currently in its founding stage — Est. 2025
Who We Are
The Sts. Cosmas & Damian Hemophilia Institute is a medical foundation currently in its founding stage, dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of hemophilia and related bleeding disorders. Named in honor of the physician-martyrs Sts. Cosmas and Damian, the Institute was established with a clear and twofold conviction: that hemophilia remains an insufficiently understood condition within the broader surgical and medical landscape, and that those who live with it deserve institutions willing to pursue that understanding with rigor and purpose.
In its initial phase, the Institute is focused on medical research and the exploration of how hemophiliac patients can be better served across all areas of medicine, not only in the management of the disorder itself, but in the full spectrum of surgical and perioperative care. The establishment of direct patient care services and clinical facilities represents the longer-term horizon of this work, toward which current research efforts are oriented.
The Institute is planned to be headquartered in the United States, with active consideration being given to a future European presence, most notably in Catalonia, Spain. Founded on the principle that medicine must serve the whole person, the Institute is guided by a tradition of care that places equal weight on scientific excellence and human dignity.
Our Mission
The mission of the Sts. Cosmas & Damian Hemophilia Institute is to pursue, through rigorous medical research and institutional development, a standard of care for hemophiliac patients that the current medical landscape has yet to fully establish. We believe that a person living with hemophilia who requires surgical intervention of any kind, whether orthopedic, rheumatological, or otherwise, should have access to clinical teams that are not merely aware of their condition, but genuinely trained and prepared to meet its demands. Our research mission is oriented toward making that standard of care a reality.
Hematological Research
Advancing the scientific understanding of hemophilia and related bleeding disorders, with a focus on how the condition intersects with broader medical and surgical practice.
Surgical Readiness
Developing protocols and training frameworks to ensure that surgical teams, across orthopedics, rheumatology, and beyond, are genuinely prepared for the perioperative demands hemophilia presents.
Patient Advocacy
Ensuring that the voice of the hemophilia community remains central to every aspect of the Institute's research priorities, institutional development, and future clinical direction.
Future Patient Care
Working toward the establishment of dedicated clinical facilities where hemophiliac patients receive comprehensive surgical and hematological care under one roof, in the United States and Europe.
Governance
The Institute is presently governed by a founding Board of Directors consisting of three members. Two of the Institute's founding board members are themselves individuals living with hemophilia, bringing to its governance a depth of lived experience that informs every aspect of the Institute's mission and direction. The third brings professional expertise in institutional development and organizational leadership. Together, the Board is committed to ensuring that the Institute's work remains grounded in both clinical ambition and the realities faced daily by the hemophilia community.
Our Patrons
Sts. Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers and physicians who practiced medicine in third-century Syria, in the region then known as Arabia. They are among the most venerated physician-saints in the history of the Church, celebrated not only for their medical skill but for the manner in which they practiced it: freely, and without payment, earning them the ancient title of "Anargyroi," meaning the silverless ones, or those who took no money for their work.
Their dedication to the sick was inseparable from their Christian faith, and it was ultimately that faith which led to their martyrdom under the Emperor Diocletian, around the year 287 AD. They are venerated across both the Eastern and Western Church, and their feast day, the 27th of September, has been observed since the earliest centuries of Christianity.
Sts. Cosmas and Damian are the traditional patron saints of physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, and the medical sciences. They were chosen as the patrons of this Institute not only for that reason, but because their example speaks directly to what this work aspires to be: medicine practiced with genuine care for the patient, rigorous in its craft, and rooted in something greater than professional obligation alone.
Their intercession is sought for all those the Institute serves, and for all those who labor within it.
Get in Touch
We are actively seeking board members, clinical advisors, and supporters who share our vision. Whether you are a hematologist, surgeon, healthcare administrator, or a patient or family member affected by hemophilia, we welcome your inquiry.