One stem cell, three lines of blood.
Bone marrow failure is what happens when that chain breaks. Each condition below breaks it in a different place. Pick a point on the map to read about it, or start with aplastic anaemia, the most common of them.
- Red cellscarry oxygen
- White cellsfight infection
- Plateletshelp blood clot
Everything in the Handbook
Seventeen guides in four sections. The first guide in each section is the best place to begin.
Understanding marrow failure
- What is aplastic anaemia?
Aplastic anaemia is a rare condition in which the bone marrow stops making enough blood cells. Here is what it means, why it happens and what to expect.
- How bone marrow makes blood, and what happens when it fails
A plain-language guide to where bone marrow sits, how it builds red cells, white cells and platelets, and what marrow failure really means.
- How aplastic anaemia is diagnosed
Blood counts alone cannot confirm aplastic anaemia. Here is how the diagnosis is built, test by test, and what each one looks for.
- Questions to ask your haematologist about aplastic anaemia
A grouped checklist for your next appointment, with tips on bringing someone, keeping a counts diary and asking for copies of your results.
Related conditions
- Acquired vs inherited bone marrow failure
Low blood counts can have an immune, environmental or genetic root, and which one it is shapes treatment, donor choice and long-term monitoring.
- PNH and aplastic anaemia: how the two conditions connect
Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria can appear alongside aplastic anaemia. Here is what it is, how it is tested and what treatment involves.
- Fanconi anaemia: an inherited DNA repair disorder
Present from birth, Fanconi anaemia affects the blood, the body's development and lifelong cancer risk, so its care plan looks different from an acquired illness.
- Dyskeratosis congenita and telomere biology disorders
A rare inherited condition rooted in short telomeres, with signs that vary widely and can appear in adults as aplastic anaemia.
- Shwachman-Diamond syndrome: an inherited, multi-system condition
A rare inherited condition that affects the pancreas, bone marrow and bones, and why it is usually picked up in early childhood.
- Pure red cell aplasia: when only the red cells fail
A rare bone marrow disorder in which red cell production stops while white cells and platelets stay normal, with its main causes and treatment options.
Treatment
- Aplastic anaemia treatment: the options and how they are chosen
A plain-language overview of supportive care, immunosuppression and transplant, and how age, severity and donors steer the decision.
- Blood and platelet transfusions for aplastic anaemia
What transfusions do, what a session involves, and the supportive care that comes with them.
- How ATG and ciclosporin treat aplastic anaemia
Immunosuppressive therapy gives the marrow time to recover. Here is what ATG, ciclosporin and eltrombopag involve, and what the evidence shows.
- Bone marrow transplant for aplastic anaemia: what to expect
A plain-language look at how a donor transplant replaces faulty marrow, how donors are chosen, and what the months afterwards involve.
- How to join the stem cell register and what donation involves
A plain guide to joining a stem cell register in the UK or US, what donation involves, and how giving blood or platelets can help too.
Living with it
- Living with aplastic anaemia and bone marrow failure
How low blood counts shape ordinary days, and what tends to help with tiredness, activity, infection risk, work, travel and long-term follow-up.
- Coping with a rare diagnosis of aplastic anaemia
Few people have heard of aplastic anaemia, counts can take a long time to recover, and the emotional load often reaches the whole household.
Aplastic anaemia affects around two people in every million each year, so most families meet it with no idea what it is. Reliable information exists, but it is spread across hospital leaflets, charity pages and specialist guidelines. This Handbook gathers it in plain language, cites where every figure comes from, and points you back to your own team for decisions. Read more about the Handbook and how we check what we publish.