Haematology and Haemotherapy

What is haematology and haemotherapy?

On the one hand, haematology specialises in diseases affecting the blood and the organs involved in its production, as well as diseases affecting the lymphoid organs. On the other, haemotherapy treats blood for subsequent transfusion to another person to improve their state of health.

Haematologists analyse the main characteristics and behaviours of blood components in order to find the right treatment for blood pathologies and to be able to use plasma as a therapy in its own right.

What does haematology and haemotherapy study?

The haematology and haemotherapy service specialises not only in the study of blood and the diseases it can cause, but also in analysing the ways in which it can be used as a treatment for certain pathologies of the patient themselves or on another compatible person. This speciality can be divided into four different areas, each offering specific care:

• Clinical Laboratory
• Clinical Haematology
• Haemostasis and thrombosis
• Transfusion medicine

Significant advances made in recent years have favoured the creation of highly specialised units to respond to patient needs. Thus, many centers have specialised units including:

• Thrombosis and pregnancy pathology unit: focuses on the increased risk of venous thrombi during pregnancy.
• Lymphoma unit: diagnoses and treats tumours affecting lymph nodes and lymphoid tissues.
• Haematopoietic stem cell transplant unit: treats cancerous tumours or diseases affecting the bone marrow through blood transfusions or transplantation of cells from the umbilical cord, placenta or marrow.
• Advanced Therapies Unit: for the administration of CAR-T (chimeric antigenic receptor) lymphocyte therapy for the treatment of certain types of lymphomas and leukaemias.
• Haematology diagnostic unit: dedicated to the detection of diseases; it performs haematimetry, cytology, flow cytometry or molecular biology studies.
• Clinical research unit: conducts clinical trials to demonstrate that certain drugs are suitable for treating certain pathologies.

Which patients is it for?

Our haematology and haemotherapy speciality treats patients with both benign and malignant blood diseases. We also assess the condition of patients who are about to undergo surgery during preoperative tests such as their coagulation status in order to optimise red blood cell levels in surgeries in which doctors expect excessive bleeding to avoid anaemia. In addition, as mentioned above, this speciality uses blood as the main element in therapies for anaemia, haemorrhage or leukaemia and bone marrow transplants.

Techniques, procedures and diagnostic methods

Haematology’s best known diagnostic procedures are those carried out in the laboratory. However, numerous treatments for patients with a wide range of diseases are also performed under this speciality. The most common techniques include:

• Haematocrit or percentage of red blood cells in the blood mean corpuscular volume test: determines the proportion of red blood cells in the blood to see whether it is too high or too low.
• Haemocytometry or haemogram: shows the number, shape and structure of blood cells.
• Flow cytometry (FCB): enables the detection of tumour markers and the study of the characteristics and number of cells present in a blood or bone marrow sample.
• Cytogenetics of oncohaematology diseases: study of chromosomes and genetic alterations in haematologic neoplasia.
• Molecular biology: study of genetic alterations in the genes of haematologic diseases, both benign and malignant.
• Therapeutic bloodletting or phlebotomy: treatment for certain pathologies such as polycythaemia vera or haemochromatosis. It involves the removal of about 450 ml of blood on a regular basis.
• Apheresis: procedure used to remove a component from the blood (plasma, cells) or to replace one of the components (plasmapheresis).
• Blood transfusion: involves the administration of certain blood components (red blood cells, platelets, plasma, clotting factor concentrate) to patients with diseases that prevent them from being produced adequately or who have lost them after an accident or an operation.
• Bone marrow biopsy: this involves puncturing one of the blood-forming bones in humans, usually the sternum and posterior iliac crest. It is carried out under local anaesthesia and on an outpatient basis. The technique can involve obtaining a bone marrow sample (aspiration) or a piece of bone (biopsy), different techniques that are used depending on the type of study to be carried out.