Diseases/Problems Associated with Blood Components

Anaemia: This condition is characterised by a decrease in the number or size of red blood cells or a lack of haemoglobin, which is responsible for transferring oxygen in your blood.
Hemophilia: This is a rare disorder in which your blood doesn’t clot properly because your body lacks sufficient blood-clotting proteins (clotting factors).
Leukaemia: This is a type of cancer which starts in blood-forming tissue, usually the bone marrow. It leads to the over-production of abnormal white blood cells, the part of the immune system which defends the body against infection.
Septicaemia (Blood Poisoning): This serious, life-threatening infection spreads in the blood, leading to widespread inflammation, septic shock and can cause organ failure.
Sickle Cell Disease: This is a group of disorders that affect the haemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body. People with this disease have atypical haemoglobin molecules called haemoglobin S, which can distort red blood cells into a sickle, or crescent, shape.
Thalassaemia: This group of inherited blood disorders affect the body’s ability to create red blood cells.
Thrombosis: This is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, blocking a vein (venous thrombosis) or artery (arterial thrombosis). Deep vein thrombosis commonly affects the leg veins or the deep veins of the pelvis.
Polycythaemia: This condition, also known as erythrocytosis, means having a high concentration of red blood cells in your blood, which can increase the risk of clotting.
Platelet disorders: These include thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) and thrombocytosis (high platelet count). Platelets are cells that help the blood to clot.
Haemochromatosis: This genetic condition is caused by an increase in iron levels in the body which can disrupt its normal functions. The iron build-up is usually slow and symptoms are seen only after the age of 40.

Remember, Biomedical Science covers how the body functions and how diseases affect it. Understanding the problems that can occur with the blood is a key part of this. As you revise, think about not just what each disease is, but also how it affects the overall functioning of the body, and how it might be treated or managed.