Blood Disorders In Pakistan: Q And A With Dr. Sabir Hussain

Blood disorders hamper the blood’s ability to carry out its designated functions. There is a range of different blood disorders and their symptoms vary from condition to condition; therefore the treatment options are also different depending on each disorder. Most common symptoms include rapid weight loss and general weakness. 

Dr. Sabir Hussain is an oncologist and haematologist in Karachi. In his interview with oladoc, he discusses some common blood disorders in Pakistan. He also shares the best practices and treatment methods for cancer in Pakistan.

Q.1: What are some common blood disorders?

There are two primary categories of blood disorders; inherited, the patient is born with it and acquired; these disorders are developed at a later stage in the patient’s life.  Anaemia involves red blood cells, Leukopenia concerns with white blood cells and Thrombocytopenia is a disorder involving platelets. 

Q2: Which blood disorders are inherited?

The most commonly inherited blood disorder in the world is sickle cell disease, affecting the body’s hemoglobin. In Pakistan, genetics mostly carry thalassemia and hemophilia. These require expensive treatments and specialized care, available in very few hospitals all over the country. In thalassemia, early diagnosis is very important since an early transplant can lead to the patient leading a normal life. In hemophilia, delay in treatment causes more deficiencies and complications. 

Q.3: Which blood disorders are acquired?

Anemia is most commonly acquired at a later stage in life, most young females develop anemia in the form of iron deficiency due to poor diets. Due to recent developments in medical science, effective treatment options are available for example iron deficiency is countered by overall replacement of iron in the body. If the patient’s body does not tolerate oral forms of iron, IV iron is administered in the patient’s body. 

Q.4: What are the symptoms of blood disorders?

The symptoms entirely depend on the type of blood disorder the patient has, for example, anemia causes frequent shortness of breath, weakness and faintness. Lesser platelets in the blood cause the nose and gum to bleed; red spots also may appear on the body. If it is a malignant form of the disorder, lumps may form on the neck and underarms coupled with rapid weight loss and fever. 

Q.5: What are the causes of blood disorders?

In most cases the causes are unknown, but like I said before, some of these disorders are carried in the genetics and are transported through generations which cause blood cells to not behave normally. Malignancies are also caused due to unknown reasons, some causes might be virus exposure, radiation exposure etcetera but mostly unknown.

Treatments range from chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, targeted drug therapy (medications that help increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs or destroy elements of the cancer cells that chemotherapy drugs do not) and stem cell transplants (involve infusions containing bone marrow cells that are capable of forming blood cells to replenish destroyed cells). 

If you want to learn more about common blood disorders in Pakistan, watch the full interview. You can find and book an appointment with the best hemotologist. You can book an appointment via the website, mobile app or by calling our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT professional for your concerns.