What is red cell aplasia caused by?
Christopher Anderson
Published Mar 18, 2026
What is red cell aplasia caused by?
Pure red blood cell aplasia (PRCA) describes a type of anemia brought about by the marrow’s inability to produce these cells. An autoimmune disease, PRCA can result from drugs, viral infections, herpes, parvovirus B19 (fifth disease), hepatitis or HIV. Children can also be born with PRCA (Blackfan-Diamond syndrome).
Does red cell aplasia cause anemia?
Pure red cell aphasia (PRCA) occurs when the body’s bone marrow fails to work properly. Production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to the body is affected, causing anemia.
What causes red blood cell issues?
Certain diseases — such as cancer, HIV / AIDS , rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, Crohn’s disease and other acute or chronic inflammatory diseases — can interfere with the production of red blood cells. Aplastic anemia. This rare, life-threatening anemia occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough red blood cells.
How does pure red cell aplasia differ from aplastic anemia?
The major difference between PRCA and aplastic anemia is that, in PRCA, only the red blood cell line is affected, while the white blood cells and platelets remain at normal levels. In aplastic anemia, all three blood cell types are typically affected.
What is aplasia and hypoplasia?
Aplasia, “a” means “no” and “plasia” means development. So aplasia means “no development”, and “hypo” means “under” so hypoplasia is “under formation”. In a nutshell, atrophy is the reduction in size of a cell, organ, or tissue, after it has attained its normal, matured growth.
What is aplasia of the bone marrow?
Bone marrow aplasia refers to those hematologic conditions that are caused by a marked reduction and/or defect in the pluripotent or committed stem cells, or the failure of the bone marrow microenvironment to support hematopoiesis. The clinical outcome is anemia, leukopenia, and/or thrombocytopenia.
What causes elevated red blood cells and hemoglobin?
A high hemoglobin count occurs most commonly when your body requires an increased oxygen-carrying capacity, usually because: You smoke. You live at a high altitude and your red blood cell production naturally increases to compensate for the lower oxygen supply there.
What do red blood cells do?
What do red blood cells do? Red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen from your lungs to your body’s tissues. Your tissues produce energy with the oxygen and release a waste, identified as carbon dioxide.
What are the symptoms of pure red cell aplasia?
Acquired pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) is a bone marrow disorder characterized by a reduction of red blood cells (erythrocytes) produced by the bone marrow. Signs and symptoms may include fatigue, lethargy, and/or abnormal paleness of the skin (pallor) due to the anemia the caused by the disorder.
What does rare red blood cells mean?
Rare blood is defined by the ISBT Rare Donor W/P as a blood type whose frequency is less than 1:1000 in the population [2]. This may be due to an antibody against a High Frequency (HF) antigen, or the presence of multiple antibodies creating the need for a red cell unit that is not immediately available.
What are the types of aplasia?
Types of aplasia
- Acquired pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) In the bone marrow, red blood cells begin as cells called erythroblasts.
- Aplasia cutis congenita.
- Radial aplasia.
- Germ cell aplasia.
- Thymic aplasia.
- Aplasia of the lung.
What is red blood cell destruction?
The destruction of red blood cells is called hemolysis. Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body. If you have a lower than normal amount of red blood cells, you have anemia. When you have anemia, your blood can’t bring enough oxygen to all your tissues and organs.