How To Be Blood Safe!

Rare blood disorders can strike older adults. Here’s all you need to know about them…

As an older adult, you’re at higher risk of a group of blood disorders you may not have heard of – MDS(myelodysplastic syndromes), a series of different diseases that affect the function and numbers of blood cells. Complications that can arise from MDS include anemia, infections and excess bleeding. Occasionally, MDS develops into cancer, and studies suggest MDS patients also are at higher risk than other seniors for heart attack and diabetes.

Shyamala C Navada, MD, assistant professor of hematology/ oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Centre, US, confirms that MDS is a health issue older adults need to be aware of if they have the risk factors associated with this type of blood disorder. “It’s an important health issue that will likely become a growing problem with the increasing life span of the general population,” Dr Navada says. However, it is important to remember that many MDS patients do well for a long time with supportive treatment.

STEM CELL PROBLEM