What is a blood disorder?
If you have a blood disorder, it means having a condition that causes problems with the way your blood cells develop and function.
Your blood is made up of different cell types with different jobs, including:
- red blood cells to carry oxygen
- white blood cells to fight infections
- platelets to help the blood clot.
All blood cells come from stem cells. Stem cells are important because we need to replace our blood cells quickly and often, which we cannot do without stem cells.
As stem cells divide and mature, they could develop into any type of blood cell. If you have a blood disorder, it means there’s a problem with one of the stages in this process. Because of this, some blood cells cannot do their job and keep your body healthy.
You can watch our video below for more information on blood disorders.
Read video transcript: What are blood disorders?
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Anthony Nolan saves the lives of people with blood cancers and disorders.
We match people willing to donate their stem cells, to people with blood cancer and disorders, in need of a life-saving transplant. But what are blood disorders? And how do they happen?
Your blood is very important for keeping you fit and healthy. It's made up of different types of cells, including red blood cells, for carrying oxygen, platelets to help blood clots, and white blood cells, that fight infections.
These all start as stem cells, which can turn into any type of blood cell, as they divide and mature. When someone has a blood disorder, it's likely that there's a problem with this stage in the process. And some of the cells in the blood can't do their jobs properly.
With blood disorders, many of these problems occur because of a faulty gene that was inherited at birth. However, others can occur without an obvious reason.
There are lots of different blood disorders, and they are treated in different ways, depending on their types and severity.
Only some people with blood disorders will need a stem cell transplant, usually only if other treatments have been unsuccessful.
If you'd like more information, or support, the Anthony Nolan's patient services team is here for you.
How do you get a blood disorder?
If you have a blood disorder, the problem often starts because of a gene you were born with that isn’t working properly. It’s usually a gene you inherited from a relative. You might hear this called a ‘faulty gene’.
However, not all blood disorders are inherited. Some can start or develop without any obvious reason, like autoimmune diseases, for example.
Different types of blood disorder
In the list below, use the links to find out more about common blood disorders that might use stem cells for treatment. Each page provides more information and tells you about organisations offering further advice and support:
How do doctors treat blood disorders?
There are lots of blood disorders which need different treatments depending on the type and severity. A few blood disorders can also develop into blood cancers over time.
Some common treatments for blood disorders include:
- different types of medication
- chemotherapy
- radiotherapy
- gene therapy
- stem cell transplant.
Only some people with blood disorders will need a stem cell transplant – usually only if other treatments have been unsuccessful.
For more information on possible treatments, see our page on medical options.
Finding support for blood disorders
On each of our pages, you can find information about types of blood disorder, as well as stem cell therapies and other treatments which doctors might offer.
Other organisations and charities offer disorder-specific advice and support for you, or anyone close to you, like:
- The Aplastic Anaemia Trust – for aplastic anaemia
- Gene People – for genetic disorders
- Sickle Cell Society – for sickle cell disease
- UK Thalassaemia Society (UKTS) – for thalassaemia
- The Wren Project – for autoimmune diseases
Each of our blood disorder information pages provides more links to organisations offering advice and support.
