Leukaemia

What is leukaemia?

Leukaemia is a cancer of white blood cells. This occurs in the bone marrow where all the blood cells are made. Sometimes young white blood cells grow rapidly but do not mature properly. Other times old white cells do not die off naturally. These young or old abnormal cells build up in the bone marrow and prevent normal blood cells from growing.

White Blood Cells

Bone marrow

All the various types of blood cells are made by the bone marrow .The bone marrow is the spongy material that fills the middle of some bones and produces cells called stem cells. These cells mature into white cells, red blood cells and platelets.

Blood component functions

Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets have a specific purpose. These are listed below:

• Red blood cells carry oxygen to all the cells in the body.
• White blood cells are essential for fighting infection.
• Platelets help the blood to clot and so control bleeding.

Red Blood Cells

All these cells normally stay inside the bone marrow until they are fully developed (mature). They are then released into the blood to circulate around the body and perform their functions

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