Final answer:
Blood diseases can affect various blood cells, with anemia resulting from a deficiency of RBCs and thrombocytopenia from a lack of platelets, causing excessive bleeding. Thrombocytosis, by contrast, leads to dangerous blood clots. Transfusions must be carefully matched to the recipient's blood type to prevent adverse reactions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Blood Diseases and Transfusions
Blood disorders cover a range of diseases that impact the components of blood, such as red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets. Conditions like sickle-cell anemia, leukemia, lymphoma, and hemophilia are examples of blood diseases that affect these cells in various ways. In the case of a substantial blood loss, treatments are tailored to address specific deficiencies such as using packed red cells to treat anemia or whole blood transfusions when there is a significant loss of blood volume leading to shock.
Clotting Disorders: Thrombocytopenia and Thrombocytosis
Clotting disorders arise when platelet levels are abnormal. Thrombocytopenia occurs when there is an insufficient production of platelets, leading to an increased risk of bleeding, even from minor wounds, due to the blood's reduced ability to clot. In contrast, thrombocytosis involves an overproduction of platelets, potentially causing unwanted blood clots that can be fatal.
Anemia and Polycythemia
Anemia is the result of ineffective hematopoiesis, where there are inadequate numbers of RBCs. On the other hand, polycythemia describes a condition of excessive RBCs which can increase the blood's viscosity, making it challenging for the heart to circulate the blood, thus affecting the oxygen delivery to the body's tissues. In any case of blood transfusion, it is critical to match the ABO blood type to avoid a harmful hemolytic transfusion reaction.