pediatric patient / parent

When the bone marrow bone marrow: The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones. Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow. fails to keep up with the body's needs and doesn't produce enough red cells, white cells or platelets, or when those blood cells that are produced are damaged or defective, you have bone marrow failure bone marrow failure: A condition that occurs when the bone marrow stops making enough healthy blood cells. The most common of these rare diseases are aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). Bone marrow failure can be acquired (begin any time in life) or can be… . Aplastic anemia Aplastic anemia: (ay-PLASS-tik uh-NEE_mee-uh) A rare and serious condition in which the bone marrow fails to make enough blood cells - red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The term aplastic is a Greek word meaning not to form. Anemia is a condition that happens when red blood cell count is low. Most… , myelodysplastic syndromes myelodysplastic syndromes: (my-eh-lo-diss-PLASS-tik SIN-dromez) A group of disorders where the bone marrow does not work well, and the bone marrow cells fail to make enough healthy blood cells. Myelo refers to the bone marrow. Dysplastic means abnormal growth or development. People with MDS have low blood cell count for at… (MDS), and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria: (par-uk-SIZ-muhl nok-TURN-uhl hee-muh-gloe-buh-NYOOR-ee-uh) A rare and serious blood disease that causes red blood cells to break apart. Paroxysmal means sudden and irregular. Nocturnal means at night. Hemoglobinuria means hemoglobin in the urine. Hemoglobin is the red part of red blood cells. A… (PNH) are bone marrow failure diseases.

The process of making blood cells is called hematopoiesis hematopoiesis: (hi-mat-uh-poy-EE-suss) The process of making blood cells in the bone marrow. . Blood cells are made in the bone marrow bone marrow: The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones. Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow. . That's a spongy tissue located inside some bones. It contains young parent cells called stem cells. These blood-forming stem cells can grow into all 3 types of blood cells – red cells, white cells and platelets. These blood-forming stem cells make copies of themselves, and they also produce mature blood cells. When blood cells are fully mature and functional, they leave the bone marrow and enter the blood. Healthy people have enough stem cells to keep making all the blood cells they need every day.

Blood is made of blood cells floating in plasma plasma: The fluid part of the blood. Plasma is mostly made of water with chemicals in it. These chemicals include proteins, hormones, minerals, and vitamins. . The plasma is mostly made of water with chemicals in it. These chemicals include proteins, hormones, minerals and vitamins.

There are three basic types of blood cells. These include:

1. Red blood cells (RBCs) are also called erythrocytes. They make up almost half of blood. Red blood cells are filled with hemoglobin hemoglobin: A protein in the red blood cells. Hemoglobin picks up oxygen in the lungs and brings it to cells in all parts of the body. . That's a protein that picks up oxygen in the lungs and brings it to cells all around the body.
2. White blood cells (WBCs) are also called leukocytes. They fight disease and infection by attacking and killing germs that get into the body. There are several kinds of white blood cells, each of which fights a different kind of germ.
3. Platelets are also called thrombocytes. They are small pieces of cells that help blood clot and stop bleeding.