What are aplastic anemia and MDS?
Aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are rare and serious disorders that affect the bone marrow and blood. In both disorders, bone marrow doesn’t produce enough healthy red or white blood cells or platelets. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, an iron-rich protein that gives blood its red color and carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body. White blood cells help fight infection. Too few functioning red and white blood cells can lead to fatigue and infection. Platelets are cells that help blood clot. Too few platelets can lead to spontaneous or uncontrolled bleeding. Anemia most often describes a condition in which a person has too few red blood cells or cells that do not carry enough hemoglobin. In aplastic anemia, however, normal production of all blood cells—red cells, white cells, and platelets—slows or stops. Blood cell production declines because bone marrow stem cells—the cells that give rise to all three types of mature blood cells—are damaged. The
