Haematology

Haematology is the study of blood, the organs related to its formation and the disorders related with red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, blood vessels, bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, and the proteins which help in bleeding and clotting.

Blood is connected to several of the body’s systems, like the lymphatic system, a network of tissues and organs that clear waste. Blood disorders may sometimes be due to problems in the bone marrow, where the body makes most of its blood cells. Haematology aims to understand how these problems occur, how they affect a person’s health, and how to treat them. Haematologists are highly trained professionals who specialize in diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders of blood and blood components, including a wide range of benign and malignant disorders of the red and white blood cells, platelets and the coagulation system in adults and children.

Blood disorders can affect any of the three main components of blood:

• Red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the body’s tissues
• White blood cells, which fight infections
• Platelets, which help blood to clot

Blood disorders can also affect the liquid portion of blood, called plasma. Treatments for blood diseases vary, depending on the condition and severity of the disease.

Some of the diseases treated by haematologists at Medica include:

• Anaemia related to iron deficiency, sickle cell or trauma
• Polycythaemia or excess production of red blood cells
• Myelofibrosis
• Leukaemia (blood cancer)
• Platelet and bleeding disorders such as haemophilia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and Von Willebrand disease
• The myelodysplastic syndromes
• Hemoglobinopathies such as thalassemia and sickle cell disease
• Multiple myeloma
• Malignant lymphomas