What Are Blood Disorders

When people refer to the term blood disorders, they generally mean that the disease or condition relates to problems, symptoms, or abnormalities of one of three major components of blood. The three...

When people refer to the term blood disorders, they generally mean that the disease or condition relates to problems, symptoms, or abnormalities of one of three major components of blood. The three components of blood are white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs), and platelets. The white blood cells are responsible for infection control and are part of the immune system, the red blood cells are responsible for oxygenating the body, and the platelets are responsible for the ability of the body to clot when blood cells are injured. Blood disorder problems can be in a wide range from discrepancies in what is normal for blood cell counts and behaviors or appearances of blood cells such as structural or functional abilities regarding any of the three types of cells within the blood.

There are many types of blood disorders as well as many kinds of causes for these disorders. Some have unknown causes, some are genetic and others are environmental in nature. Under the umbrella of blood disorders there are anemias, myeloproliferative disorders, spleen disorders, bleeding and clotting disorders, white blood cell disorders, leukemias, and lymphomas.

Anemia is a common blood disorder involving a decreased number of red blood cells, a decreased amount of the substance in the red blood cells, which is responsible for transorting oxygen hemoglobin, or a decrease in volume of red blood cells. There are different types of anemias including anemia of B12 deficiency, anemia of folate deficiency, drug-induced immune hemolytic anemia, pernicious anemia, and sickle cell anemia just to name a few.

Hemochromatosis is an inherited blood disorder in which the body tissue absorbs and stores too much iron. The disease can result from dietary intake of iron.

Hemophilia is another genetic blood disease in which the blood is unable to clot normally and the individual is prone to bleed excessively.

HIV and AIDS are blood-borne diseases of the human immune system.

Leukemia is a blood cancer in which a malignant condition is created affecting the immature blood-forming cells within the bone marrow.

Polycythemia vera is a blood disorder in which individuals have more red blood cells than is needed and a slower than normal build up of white blood cells and platelets. Patients with this disorder are at risk for blood clots and stroke.

Sickle cell disease is a blood disease that is inherited from biological parents. The red blood cells have a crescent or “sickle” shape, which makes it difficult to pass through smaller blood vessels causing blockage.

Thalassemia refers to a fatal genetic group of blood disorders, which are inherited and prevalent in the Mediterranean, Asian Indian, South Asian and Chinese ancestry.

When a patient is diagnosed with a blood disorder, the healthcare provider is likely to refer the patient to a hematologist, a medical specialist who specializes in disorders and diseases of the blood.

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