Living with Hereditary Spherocytosis
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By Sinead Borgersen, Coordinator for Nimsoft Blood Drives
My two-year-old son Faelan has a hereditary red blood cell fragility disorder called hereditary spherocytosis. He inherited it from me and I inherited from my mother with another of my siblings. His red blood cells are fragile and spherical in shape instead of the normal donut shape due to a defective gene that causes the shell to be misshapen, like a pole missing in a tent. His red blood cells live a shorter life and the spleen becomes enlarged as it attacks the red blood cells, causing them to live a very shortened lifespan of 3-10 days. So he is anemic and fatigues easily.