What are the causes of hemolytic anemia?
Intrinsic causes are generally inherited and result in red blood cells that are defective and have a short life span after being produced by the bone marrow. Examples of inherited blood conditions that result in hemolytic anemia include: • Thalassemia • Sickle cell anemia • Hereditary spherocytosis • Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency Extrinsic causes of hemolytic anemia result in the destruction of red blood cells that are initially healthy when they are produced by the bone marrow. Some of these extrinsic causes are temporary in nature and others are more chronic or result in recurrent symptoms.
