Description

Megaloblastic anemia is a type of macrocytic anemia. Macrocytic anemia is a blood disorder in which your bone marrow produces unusually large red blood cells. It is also a type of anemia caused by a lack of vitamins. When you don’t get enough vitamin B12 and/or vitamin B9, you develop this condition. Megaloblastic anemia is treated with vitamin B12 and vitamin B9 supplements.

What effects does megaloblastic anemia have on my body?

Your body requires a certain number of healthy red blood cells to transport oxygen from your lungs to your tissues and back. Red blood cells, like all blood cells, begin as stem cells in your bone marrow. Vitamins B12 and B9 aid in the formation of red blood cells. When you don’t get enough vitamin B12 or B9, your body produces abnormal cells called megaloblasts.

Megaloblasts do not divide and reproduce like healthy cells, so the bone marrow contains fewer red blood cells. The abnormal cells are so unusually large that they frequently cannot exit your bone marrow and enter your bloodstream. Even if they do enter your bloodstream, abnormal cells die faster than healthy red blood cells. These factors, when combined, reduce the number of red blood cells, resulting in anemia.