Aplastic anemia Aplastic anemia: (ay-PLASS-tik uh-NEE_mee-uh) A rare and serious condition in which the bone marrow fails to make enough blood cells - red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The term aplastic is a Greek word meaning not to form. Anemia is a condition that happens when red blood cell count is low. Most… happens when your bone marrow bone marrow: The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones. Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow. stops making enough blood-forming stem cells stem cells: Cells in the body that develop into other cells. There are two main sources of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells come from human embryos and are used in medical research. Adult stem cells in the body repair and maintain the organ or tissue in which they are found. Blood-forming (hemapoietic) stem… . Most experts believe aplastic anemia occurs because your immune system attacks and kills your stem cells in your bone marrow. This causes you to have low blood counts for all three types of blood cells.
Low blood counts result in symptoms such as fatigue, tiredness, bleeding, bruising and a higher risk of infection. The disease can be classified as moderate (MAA), severe (SAA) or very severe (VAA) depending on how low your blood counts are.