pathoscribe

Written by Jayne Thakur | Art by Charlene Cheng 

The act of bleeding brings the scarlet red to the surface, but have we ever wondered where this blood is made?

Bone marrow is an aqueous substance located in the soft center of bones, where all three types of blood cells are produced. The failure of this component can result in serious health issues pertaining to the function of our blood. Its occurrence can even be associated with other life-threatening health issues such as blood cancers—MDS or leukaemia.

There are 2 types of bone marrow failure: acquired and inherited. Acquired BMF can be caused  by prolonged exposure to various toxins such as drugs, medicines, chemicals, or even a long battle with a particular disease. Acquired BMF can be found in children and adults; age is not an important variable, but rather the situations patients have been through. Making up 30% of all BMF cases, inherited BMF would be present since birth, as it is caused by gene mutations passed down from the parents. However, BMF in general is not very common. There is a 0.0065% diagnosis rate, meaning usually 65 out of every 1 million people born every year are diagnosed with this condition. Despite this, people of Romani (Spain), Boer (South Africa), or Ashkenazi Jewish descent are more likely to develop BMF. 

When an individual has developed BMF, they are likely to feel anaemic, pain in the bones, heavy bruising, infections, fatigue, etc. In order to diagnose BMF, medical professionals will do a CBC (complete blood count), a bone marrow biopsy, blood tests, and other diagnostic tests specific to medical and family history. 

To treat BMF, patients may be placed on bone marrow stimulants, blood transfusions, antibiotics (if white blood cell count is too low), immunosuppressants,  corticosteroids, and androgens (to improve red blood cell count). However, these are all short-term solutions. If patients are under the age of 55, they may be a good candidate for a stem cell transplant as a long-term solution of BMF.

As bone marrow is an important part of our circulatory system, we must be on the lookout for any symptoms that indicate poor health in regards to our blood health, whether it is in regards to bone marrow or blood itself.

Works Cited:

Dana Faber Cancer Institute. (2024). Adult bone marrow failure syndromes. https://www.dana-farber.org/cancer-care/types/bone-marrow-failure-syndromes 

Cleveland Clinic medical. (2024, April 19). Bone marrow failure: Symptoms, causes & treatment. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24918-bone-marrow-failure Moore, C. A. (2023, July 10). Bone Marrow failure. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459249