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Aplastic anemia
Make it clearer
Aplastic anemia is a rare, serious blood disorder in which the bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside the bones where blood is made, stops producing enough cells.
The exact point of failure is the hematopoietic stem cell, the original cell that every other blood cell comes from. When that cell fails, the result is called pancytopenia: all three blood cell lines (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets) drop at the same time. It is not that blood is being used up faster: the factory stopped making it.
The consequences follow from those low counts and can be serious: profound fatigue, greater susceptibility to infection, and a higher risk of bleeding.
In brief
Aplastic anemia is a rare blood disorder in which the bone marrow stops making enough blood cells.
The failure is in the marrow's hematopoietic stem cell, and the result is pancytopenia: all three blood cell lines drop at once.
It is not that blood is being used up faster: the factory stopped making it.
That leads to serious consequences: profound fatigue, greater susceptibility to infection, and a higher risk of bleeding.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAplastic Anemia, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated