Anemia and other blood disorders are often more common in children. Our experts work together to care for children with these conditions.

Learn about:

• Sickle cell anemia
• Thalassemia
• Aplastic anemia
• Neutropenia
• Thrombocytopenia
• Red blood cell disorders
• Autoimmune blood cell disorders
• Vascular anomalies

Sickle cell anemia

What is it?

Sickle cell anemia is the most common inherited blood disorder. It is caused by a mutation in the hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. All newborns in the U.S. are screened for sickle cell anemia shortly after birth.

Most blood cells are shaped like ovals. If your child has sickle cell anemia, some of their red blood cells are shaped like a "C", or like a sickle.

Their unusual shape causes sickle cells to get stuck in small blood vessels. When this happens, not enough healthy red blood cells carry oxygen through the body. Sickle cell anemia can cause pain and damage organs like the spleen. Damage to the spleen increases the risk of serious infections.

Sickle cell anemia is most common in people of African descent. Some people with Latino, southern European, Middle Eastern, Asian or Indian heritage can also inherit sickle cell anemia.

Symptoms:

• Signs of anemia, such as fatigue and pale skin
• Yellowish eyes
• Dark urine
• Painful swelling in hands and feet
• Pain in the abdomen, chest and lower back
• Delayed growth

Treatments:

Until recently, there was no cure for sickle cell disease. Bone marrow transplants that let the body make normal red blood cells have shown promise for children younger than 16. However, transplants do have serious risks. If a transplant is an option for your child, Doernbecher’s advanced bone marrow transplant program is among the best in the nation.

The FDA recently approved a new kind of treatment called gene therapy that may be an option for your child.

All children with sickle cell anemia need to take Penicillin daily. Other treatments that can help with your child’s symptoms include:

• Pain relievers and drinking lots of liquid
• Hydroxyurea, a medication that helps reduce the number of red blood cells that sickle
• Antibiotics and vaccines to fight infection
• Blood transfusions
• Folic acid, a B vitamin supplement that can help red blood cells develop

Thalassemia

What is it?

Thalassemia is an inherited condition in which your child doesn’t produce enough hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein that helps red blood cells carry oxygen through the body.

Two important parts of hemoglobin are called “alpha” and “beta.” Thalassemia can happen when your child produces low amounts of either alpha or beta hemoglobin.

The condition ranges from mild to severe. Your child could have minor, intermedia or major thalassemia.

Symptoms:

Thalassemia causes signs of anemia (low red blood cell count) such as:

• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness
• A fast heartbeat
• Leg cramps
• Headaches
• Pale skin

Treatments:

• Folic acid, a B vitamin supplement that can help red blood cells develop.
• Blood transfusions, given regularly for major thalassemia.

Aplastic anemia

What is it?

Aplastic anemia occurs when your child’s bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells.

Symptoms:

• Tiring easily or lack of energy
• Shortness of breath
• Rapid heart rate
• Pale skin
• Frequent bruising
• Small red or purple spots on the skin (petechiae)
• Frequent nosebleeds or bleeding gums
• Blood in stool
• Frequent infections or fevers
• Headaches

Treatments:

A bone marrow transplant is the only cure for severe aplastic anemia. If it’s an option for your child, Doernbecher has one of the top pediatric bone marrow transplant programs in the nation.

Immunosuppression drugs, which lower your child’s immune system response, can also help with aplastic anemia. This treatment may increase the bone marrow’s production of blood cells.

Treatment for symptoms:

• Blood transfusions
• Antibiotics
• Medicine to increase white blood cell production

Neutropenia

What is it?

Neutropenia happens when your child doesn’t have enough neutrophils. A neutrophil is a type of white blood cell that helps fight infections from bacteria.

Neutropenia often occurs temporarily as a result of chemotherapy. It can also be caused by bone marrow infections or diseases. Rarely, it is caused by an inherited condition.

Symptoms:

Neutropenia itself has no symptoms. Your child’s doctor may discover it during a blood test. It can put your child at risk for repeated infections.

Treatments:

Treatment is usually only needed in the rare, inherited type of neutropenia. In the temporary form, we will watch for and treat infections it may cause.

Thrombocytopenia

What is it?

Thrombocytopenia happens when your child’s blood has an abnormally low number of platelets. Platelets are pieces of blood cells that help form clots that stop bleeding.

Many health issues can cause it, such as infections and disorders in which the immune system destroys platelets.

Symptoms:

• Frequent bruising
• Small red or purple spots on the skin (petechiae)
• Blood blisters in the mouth
• Other signs of unusual bleeding

Treatments:

• In mild cases, the condition could get better on its own. Your child may not need treatment.
• In more serious cases, your child may need treatment. We may use medicines that change your child’s immune system.
• In life-threatening situations, we may treat thrombocytopenia with transfusions of platelets or red blood cells.

Red blood cell disorders

• Anemia, including iron deficiency
• Congenital hemolytic anemia
• Hemolytic disease of the newborn
• Polycythemia
• Hereditary spherocytosis and other disorders of the red cell membrane

Autoimmune blood cell disorders

Autoimmune disorders happen when your immune system makes antibodies against your own cells and tissues.

• Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) (antibodies against platelets)
• Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (antibodies against red blood cells)
• Evans syndrome (antibodies against both platelets and red blood cells)

Vascular anomalies

Vascular disorders are caused by the abnormal growth of blood vessels or lymph channels in your body’s circulatory system.

• Hemangioma
• Capillary malformations
• Cavernous malformations
• Sturge-Weber syndrome
• CLOVES syndrome
• Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma
• Gorham Stout disease
• Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma
• Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon
• Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome
• Lymphatic malformation
• Tufted angioma
• Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome