Blood Disorders

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disease characterized by the presence of abnormal hemoglobin genes contributed by both parents. In combination, these abnormal genes cause "sickling," a...

Homozygous C disease is a blood disorder that results in mild hemolytic anemia. The disease often does not present obvious symptoms and is typically not diagnosed until adulthood.

While the spleen does not actually produce blood, it does have important functions related to blood.

The complete blood count, or CBC, is a comprehensive blood work-up that contains a tremendous amount of information about the make-up of your blood, and can indicate the presence or absence of...

Sickle cell anemia is a disease in which the carrier has abnormal hemoglobin that causes red blood cells to have a sickle shape. These red blood cells clump and clot easily in blood vessels,...

Sickle cell disease is a blood disorder in which the hemoglobin in the blood is abnormal. This causes the blood cells to be shaped like the letter "C" or a sickle. Sickle cell disease reduces the...

In addition to basic nutrients and vitamins, the human body requires a certain amount of various minerals in order to perform its everyday functions. About 4 percent of the human body is made of...

People with anemia don't have enough red blood cells or have deficient red blood cells that are unable to carry oxygen properly. As a result, the oxygen deficiency creates problems that includes...

A CBC is a relatively inexpensive test that can provide a tremendous amount of information about blood volume and components of blood. This test provides the values of your red blood cell count,...

Sickle cell disease is a hereditary disorder that is caused by the misshapen cell called hemoglobin S (HbS). The effects of sickle cell disease vary in individuals; however, their health is...

Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder depicted by sickle (crescent) shaped red blood cells (normally disc shaped). Red blood cells that are sickle shaped are more fragile and less flexible than...

Thalassemia and sickle cell are genetic disorders. Thalassemia is the result of an imbalance in the two globin chains that produce the hemoglobin molecule. In sickle cell, a mutation of the genes...

Sickle cell disease, also known as sickle cell anemia, is an inherited blood disorder present at birth. Characterized by defective hemoglobin, the disease has the highest incidence in people of...

A comprehensive blood count---more commonly known as a complete blood count, or CBC---is a blood test used to determine the amounts of each specific type of blood cell present in circulating...

Beta thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder characterized by insufficient production of hemoglobin, which assists red blood cells in moving oxygen throughout the body. It is caused by any of...

Malaria is a parasitic disease of the blood. Sickle cell disease causes the creation of abnormally shaped red blood cells. Malaria parasites cannot enter sickle cells. Sickle cell disease became...

Methemoglobinemia is a primarily inherited blood disorder characterized by an increase in the amount of hemoglobin in the blood, resulting in difficulty transporting oxygen throughout the body. It...

Thalassemia is a blood disorder caused by the inheritance of defective hemoglobin genes. A hemoglobin is a protein within your blood cells. Hemoglobin also transports oxygen to your lungs and your...

Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder that affects hemoglobin molecules within red blood cells. Hemoglobin molecules are responsible for carrying oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body...

A complete blood count, or CBC, is a common blood test that is performed as part of a routine physical or to assist in diagnosing disease. A small blood sample is needed and must be collected in a...

People who donate blood save thousands of lives each year. One unit of blood can actually help several people. Different components of blood can be used separately to save lives. Giving blood is...

A complete blood count (CBC) is a lab test used to analyze the number, size and shape of blood cells. Values measured by the CBC include red and white blood cell counts, hemoglobin concentration...

The thalassemias are a group of inherited globinopathies primarily affecting Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian populations. Multiple mutations are responsible for the different...

Anemia is a condition that can strike anyone at any time. Stomach pain can be a symptom of certain types of anemia. Anemia can be a long-term or temporary condition. It also can develop into a...

Sickle cell anemia is a genetic blood disorder resulting from a point mutation on the short arm of chromosome 11. The mutated gene sequence produces inelastic, sickle-shaped red blood cells which...

There are many conditions that affect red blood cells and hemoglobin C disease is one of them. To diagnose the condition a doctor will do a blood test to check the hemoglobin count and to do an...

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder affecting hemoglobin in the blood. Hemoglobin is protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen. The disorder will cause abnormal hemoglobin to develop...

Sickle cell anemia is a disease passed down through families in which red blood cells are formed in a crescent (or sickle) shape due to abnormal hemoglobin created from a genetic mutation. The...

Sickle cell disease, also known as sickle cell anemia and hemoglobin SS disease, is a genetic blood disorder characterized by red blood cells that lose their normal oval shape and take on an...

Sickle cell anemia is a disorder where abnormal hemoglobin is made, changing the structure of red blood cells. Humans inherit one set of chromosomes from their father and another set from their...

The condition of methemoglobinemia develops when the body is unable to repair or replace damaged hemoglobin cells. Hemoglobin is the part of the blood that carries oxygen as it is transported to...

Known as "Mediterannean anemia" because of its prevalence among people from southeastern Europe, thalassemia can strike anyone--at least, anyone with the right genes. This genetic disorder...

Several disorders are caused by mutation in the genetic material of cells. In the case of sickle cell disease, abnormal blood circulation in the body is caused by a mutation in the hemoglobin (Hb)...

MCHC is an acronym for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. Hemoglobin is a protein found in the blood that is responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body....

Hemoglobin, the protein part of blood cells, is produced by bone marrow. Hemoglobin is the element in blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs throughout the entire body. It is the oxygen...

Sickle cell anemia is a type of anemia that is inherited, which means it is passed on genetically. With sickle cell anemia, there are too few red blood cells that are healthy enough to carry...

Microcytic anemia is any type of anemia due to small red blood cells (erythrocytes). Normal erythrocytes have an average volume of 76 to 100 femtoliters (10^-15 liters), and erythrocytes are...

P. falciparum takes many forms and lives the sexual part of its life cycle in the mosquito and the asexual part in the human host. In brief, P. falciparum sporozoites enter human blood from...

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder, a type of anemia that affects the production of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the substance that allows red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the...

According to the Centers for Disease Control, sickle cell disease affects one in every 500 African-Americans born, and it is estimated that 2 million African-Americans (one in 12) carry the sickle...

Hemoglobin is a red pigment of blood. It consists of two parts globin; a specific simple protein (96%) and the other 4% is a non-specific prosthetic group, an iron containing a pigment called haem...

Anemia is a blood disorder involving a decrease in the number of red blood cells or a reduction in blood hemoglobin levels below the normal quantity. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein responsible...

Hemoglobin (Hgb) is the main component of red blood cells (RBCs). This protein serves to carry oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body. Hgb levels are measured as part of the complete blood count...

Beta thalassemia, also known as erythroblastic anemia or Mediterranean anemia, is a hereditary blood disorder that belongs to the group of blood disorders called thalassemias. Thalassemias are...

The effects of sickle cell anemia cause pain and damage to the organs. Irregularly shaped red blood cells become sluggish, and move more slowly, causing clumping. Red blood cells are normally...

Sickle cell disease is a painful condition that affects the shape of your blood cells and the ability of those cells to carry oxygen. One of the treatments being used to help people suffering...

Anemia is a condition in which the red blood cell count is lower than normal. It can be the result of reduced hemoglobin in the red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. As a...

Hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to tissue, should not be too low or too high on a blood count. While it is important to not have a count that is too low, an abnormally...

Hemoglobin is a protein that contains iron and is carried through the body by red blood cells. If you have low levels of hemoglobin in the bloodstream, you are considered anemic and have a low red...

Hemoglobin, found in red blood cells, transports oxygen throughout the body from the lungs. The production of hemoglobin happens in the bone marrow, which should also regulate the amount it...