The type of hemorrhagic manifestations that occur in patients with recessively transmitted coagulation disorders and their optimal treatment are not well established as for hemophilia A and B and von Willebrand disease, due to the rarity of these disorders. In a Muslim country like Iran where consanguineous marriages are frequent these disorders are less rare. We chose to evaluate the pattern of bleeding symptoms in 237 Iranian patients with the inherited deficiencies of fibrinogen, factor II, combined factor V and factor VIII, factor V, factor VII and factor X. Considering "severe" life-endangering hemorrhages such as those in the CNS, gastrointestinal tract and from the umbilical cord and those potentially handicapping such as hematomas and hemarthroses; and "mild" epistaxis, menorrhagia, hematuria, oral and postsurgical bleeding, it would appear the most severe diseases are factor X and factor II deficiencies. For the remaining defects only a minority of patients, even those with unmeasurable plasma levels, had life-endangering hemorrhages or musculoskeletal disabilities as a consequence of hemarthroses and hematomas. The relatively mild severity of clinical manifestations in recessive coagulation disorders commands safety as the primary criterion in the choice of replacement material for treatment. Hence, virally inactivated plasma and factor concentrates should be the products of choice.