anaemificationology: Anaemia due to Decreased or Faulty Red Blood Cell Production

Hey there!

Hope you guys are doing well and hanging in there for school:) Anyway, today we will be discussing about how decreased or faulty red blood cell formation leads to anaemia.

When there is a decrease in the number of red blood cells being produced or error during the formation of red blood cells, this leads to anaemia as your body no longer has the required number of healthy red blood cells to function normally and oxygen transport is compromised.

Some examples of these types of anaemia would be:

Sickle Cell Anaemia

Normal red blood cells are biconcave in shape and look like doughnuts. However, in sickle cell anaemia, the red blood cells are stiff and sticky due to the abnormal haemoglobin present in red blood cells of people with sickle cell anaemia. This abnormal haemoglobin starts to polymerise and form chains which cause the red blood cell to become sickle-shaped (crescent-shaped) and rigid. Blood Vessels can become blocked because of this, causing pain and organ damage as blood can no longer flow smoothly to some parts of the body.

Sickle cells also have shorter life spans (~10-20 days) than compared to normal red blood cells (~120 days). As the production of new blood cells is not rapid enough to replace the dying ones, there would not be enough red blood cells to transport oxygen around the body for optimal performance.

Aplastic Anaemia

The bone marrow is a sponge-like tissue that produces red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Aplastic anaemia, also known as bone marrow failure, is a disorder where the bone marrow is unable to produce adequate numbers of red blood cells as the bone marrow’s stem cells are damaged. As the damaging of stem cells can be due to various reasons, this condition may be inherited as well as acquired.

· Iron Deficiency Anaemia

This form of anaemia is actually is the most common. Iron is a key component of haemoglobin in red blood. Hence, when the body’s iron storage is low, the body is no longer able to produce enough haemoglobin, causing the red blood cells to be unable to transport oxygen effectively. Factors that cause the decrease in iron storage of the body:

1. Iron poor diet

2. Menstruation

3. Frequent blood donation

4. The metabolic demands of pregnancy and breastfeeding that deplete a woman's iron stores

5. Digestive conditions such as Crohn's disease or surgical removal of part of the stomach or small intestine

6. Illness

Hope you got a better idea of how decreased or faulty red blood cell production can lead to anaemiaJ If you have any questions regarding the things we have discussed or even anything regarding anaemia, do feel free to drop us a comment! Remember to keep a lookout for our next post on how anaemia can be caused by the destruction of red blood cellsJ

-ANNEBIGAIL:)

p.s. here is a video about a teen living with sickle cell anaemia. Do watch it to find out more about the daily life of someone with sickle cell and learn more about this inspirational boy, Nicholas. Enjoy:)