[Ruth Cuadra]

Hi, Dawna.

Welcome to Marrowforums. I hope we'll be able to help you understand more about what's happening with your son's hypoplastic bone marrow. As you probably already know, it is a part of the definition of aplastic anemia that the bone marrow is hypoplastic, that is it has a reduced amount of blood forming tissue.

Before I was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in 1996, I had probably been living with slowly declining counts for a year or more. One's body can adjust to living with low counts, as mine certainly did, but everyone is different in their tolerance. Is your son experiencing symptoms from lower than normal counts?

Given that your mother had MDS RAEB-T, I wonder if your son's hypoplastic marrow might indicate hypoplastic MDS (myelodysplastic syndrome). It can be difficult to distinguish aplastic anemia and hypoplastic MDS because of the reduced cellularity, but it is not a critical distinction since both aplastic anemia and hypoplastic MDS respond to similar treatment. However, the possibility of hypoplastic MDS progressing to a more another form might be a concern.

Let us know what questions or concerns you have. There are many of us at Marrowforums with considerable experience who are ready and willing to help.

Regards,
Ruth Cuadra