The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute reports that between 500 and 1,000 people develop aplastic anemia each year. Although researchers are consistently studying and analyzing the causes behind the condition, an effective treatment has yet to be found for all cases of aplastic anemia. However, recent news claims that Kyle Miller, a seventh-grader in Seattle could receive a blood transfusion that’s the treatment doctors can often depend on.

Miller discovered that he had aplastic anemia while attending Yakima’s Discovery Lab School, where doctors informed him he could have one of three diseases: leukemia, idiopathic thrombocytic purpura (ITP) or aplastic anemia.

How Does a Child Suddenly Get Aplastic Anemia?

Though there are treatments available for aplastic anemia, some of them are only effective upon the degree of the condition at the time of its diagnosis. And, doctors can’t be sure that treatments are going to bring the patient back to complete health. There is no known cause for aplastic anemia or why Kyle Miller suddenly developed the health condition.

Aplastic anemia occurs when the bone marrow isn’t able to produce a sufficient amount of blood cells in order to replenish healthy blood cells. Although Kyle’s choices for treatment are limited at this point, there is one that doctors find to be the most dependable, a blood transfusion. The tricky part about getting a blood transfusion as treatment for aplastic anemia is that it is only effective if the donor has the exact same bone marrow and blood type as the patient. And in this case, Kyle seems to be a lucky boy because his fifteen-year-old brother Gavin is a perfect match.

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