Aplastic anemia is failure of the bone marrow to produce enough blood cells- it’s empty (aplastic) or contains very few blood cells (hypoplastic). All blood cell types are affected in this condition: red blood cells (anemia), white blood cells (leukopenia), and platelets(thrombocytopenia). Aplastic refers to inability of the stem cells to generate mature blood cells. It can be caused by injury to blood stem cells due to exposure to certain drugs, chemotherapy, congenital disorders, drug therapy to suppress the immune system, pregnancy, radiation therapy, or toxins such as benzene or arsenic. When the cause is unknown, it is referred to as idiopathic aplastic anemia. In about half of all cases, no cause can be found. The condition can be acute or chronic.
Anemia is a condition in which there is a deficiency of red cells or of haemoglobin in the blood, resulting in pallor and weariness.