Blood contains a liquid portion, known as plasma, which consists of 90 percent water, according to the Franklin Institute. The plasma functions to carry the different types of blood cells, including red cells that carry oxygen, white cells that protect the body from foreign invaders and platelets that function to clot the blood. The body needs each type of blood cell in order to function, and any abnormalities can result in disease.
Sickle Cell Anemia
Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, an iron-rich protein that carries oxygen throughout the body. Sickle cell anemia, an inherited disease, causes an abnormality in hemoglobin, resulting in sickle-shaped red blood cells, meaning they resemble a "C" shape instead of a disc shape.
Sickle cell anemia affects 70,000 to 100,000 people in the United States, mainly African Americans, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. The sickle shape interferes with the ability of red blood cells to move through the vessels, causing them to be stiff and sticky. Sickle cells clump together restricting blood flow to organs and limbs, resulting in shortness of breath, dizziness, headache, cold hands and feet, and chest pain.
Hairy Cell Leukemia
Hairy cell leukemia describes a rare, slow-growing cancer that affects lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell produced in the bone marrow. Hairy cell leukemia causes the stem cells in the bone marrow to produce too many lymphocytes, resulting in abnormal cells that appear hairy under a microscope.
The increase in abnormal white blood cells reduces the number of red blood cells, healthy white blood cells and platelets. This causes fatigue, bruising, frequent infections, weakness and weight loss.
Thalassemia
Thalassemia describes a group of inherited blood disorders that cause abnormalities in hemoglobin. Red blood cells contain two types of the hemoglobin protein: alpha and beta. Thalassemia causes the body to produce decreased amounts of one or both hemoglobin proteins, causing abnormal red blood cells that cannot carry oxygen effectively. The March of Dimes reports that thalassemia is one of the most common genetic disorders worldwide.
The symptoms and their severity depend upon the type of thalassemia. A mild form, known as silent carrier, causes no symptoms. Alpha thalassemia minor causes mild anemia, while alpha thalassemia major, the most severe form, causes severe anemia, heart failure and fluid build-up that often leads to death in-utero or soon after birth.
