WHAT IS MYELOFIBROSIS (MF)? Myelofibrosis is a life-threatening bone marrow disorder that disrupts the body’s normal production of blood cells. The disease causes inflammation that leads to scars (fibrosis) in the bone marrow. Many people with MF get progressively worse, and some may eventually develop a more serious form of leukaemia, however, it is possible to have MF and live symptom-free for years. WHAT CAUSES MYELOFIBROSIS?
MF occurs when blood stem cells – cells that can divide into multiple specialised cells that make up our blood viz. red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets – develop a genetic mutation for reasons unknown to medical science. As the mutated blood cells replicate and divide, the mutation is passed along to the new cells with serious effects on blood production. This usually results in a lack of red blood cells – which causes the anaemia characteristic of…
