Blood disorders include a broad range of conditions related to abnormalities found in any of the blood’s main components: red blood cells, white blood cells and plasma, or in the bone marrow where your blood cells are made. Some of these disorders occur randomly, some result from a genetic condition and others may occur after being treated for cancer. Whether your condition is simple or complex, acute or chronic, you need the expertise of Roswell Park’s board-certified hematologists who treat these conditions every day.

We provide expert hematological care for the following blood disorders.

Aplastic anemia is a rare disease that occurs when your bone marrow no longer produces the stem cells you need to provide your body with enough red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. In most cases, this happens because your own immune system begins to attack your tissues and organs.

Aplastic anemia

This rare immune disorder occurs when your body mistakes your red blood cells for a foreign substance and attacks them.

This condition (formerly called natural killer cell leukemia/lymphoma) most frequently manifests on the skin and is often misdiagnosed. Treatment may include therapies that are also used for leukemia or lymphoma.

BPDCN

Several conditions can affect your blood’s normal clotting activity. These include disorders such as hemophilia, Von Willebrand disease, clotting factor deficiencies, hypercoagulable states and deep vein thrombosis.

Deep vein thrombosis occurs when a blood clot (called a thrombus) forms in one of the deep veins of the body, most commonly in the legs.

This blood disorder occurs when the proteins that normally control blood clotting become overactive. These overactive proteins can cause blood clots to form in blood vessels, cutting off blood supply to important organs. In some cases of DIC, the clotting proteins are consumed, leaving you without proper blood clotting function and susceptible to serious bleeding.

Hemochromatosis is a condition in which the body stores too much iron. When this occurs, it can lead to damage in many areas of the body, such as the liver, heart, pancreas, endocrine glands and heart.

Hypercoagulable state (also called thrombophilia) is a blood clotting disorder that means your body is more likely to form blood clots in your blood vessels. The condition is usually genetic (hereditary) but it may also be acquired as the result of surgery, trauma, medications or another condition that increases your risk for blood clots.

This blood disorder occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the platelets, the cells in the blood which help to control bleeding. This decrease in platelets can lead to easy bruising, bleeding gums, nose bleeds or internal bleeding.
Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia and occurs when your body lacks the iron needed to make healthy red blood cells. Iron-deficiency anemia can result from a number of factors. Blood loss such as injury, surgery, childbirth, bleeding conditions or medications that cause bleeding can lead to iron-deficiency anemia. Some people with iron-deficiency anemia take medicine or have a condition which decreases the ability to absorb iron. Others (particularly children) may not consume iron-rich foods.

Myelofibrosis is a type of cancer that occurs in the bone marrow, causes scarring in the bone marrow, and affects your body’s ability to produce blood cells normally, especially platelets, leading to severe anemia and increased risk of bleeding. Myelofibrosis is considered a type of chronic leukemia and is among a group of blood disorders called myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Myleoproliferative neoplasms

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a very rare disorder in which an abnormal protein causes defective red blood cells to break up. PNH is considered a type of bone marrow failure disorder.

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)Bone marrow failure

Pernicious anemia is a condition that occurs when your body cannot produce enough healthy red blood cells (which carry oxygen to the rest of your body). This particular type of anemia results from a deficiency of vitamin B12, usually due to a problem with a protein that helps you absorb vitamin B12 from the foods you eat.

Platelets are an important component of your blood. These tiny, disc-shaped pieces of cells stick together to form a blood clot in order to stop bleeding and help wounds to heal. Platelet aggregation abnormalities occur when platelet don’t function properly and fail to form a clot at the site of an injury. This can lead to problems with bleeding such as nose bleeds, bruising, bleeding in mouth and gums, heavy or prolonged menstrual periods and other potentially life-threatening symptoms.

This condition occurs when there are too many red blood cells in your bone marrow and blood. The number or white blood cells and platelets may also be abnormally high. Having too many blood cells causes the blood to thicken lead to abnormal clotting, and these cells may accumulate in the spleen, causing it to become enlarged. Polycythemia vera is now considered a chronic blood disorder that is a type of cancer, and one of a group of disorders known as myeloproliferative neoplasms, or MPNs.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that causes red blood cells (normally round and flexible) to become rigid, sticky, and shaped like a sickle or banana. The sickle-shaped cells then clump together, block blood flow and damage blood vessels causing anemia, pain, jaundice, blood infections, stroke, lung and other organ damage.

Sickle cell disease

Mast cells are immune cells that live in your bone marrow and other body tissues, such as the gastrointestinal tract, airway lining and the skin, and play a role in inflammation and protection against infection. Mast cells are also involved in allergic reactions. With mast cell disorders, you have too many mast cells, and they accumulate in organ tissues and/or they activate inappropriately, causing symptoms such as hives, flushing, itching, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, low blood pressure and other symptoms.

Thalassemia is a group of inherited blood disorders that affect hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that help them to carry oxygen throughout your body, causing anemia and symptoms of fatigue, dizziness, headaches, shortness of breath and decreases tolerance for activity.

Thalassemia syndromes
These conditions occur when your blood has an abnormally high number of platelets. Thrombocythemia (sometimes called primary or essential thrombocythemia) refers to a high platelet count that’s not caused by another health condition. Thrombocytosis means the high platelet count is cause by an underlying health problem. Both conditions cause clotting and bleeding problems.
This rare, life-threatening blood disorder causes blood clots to form in the small blood vessels throughout the body, limiting or blocking blood flow to the brain, heart, kidneys and other organs and leading to organ damage and dysfunction. TTP may be inherited or acquired, and requires timely treatment to prevent brain damage or stoke.
Von Willebrand disease is a bleeding disorder caused when levels of von Willebrand factor, a protein that helps blood to clot, are too low or the protein does not function properly. Although most people with the disease have inherited it; it is possible to acquire it as the result of another condition.

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