Summary and Review of the Abstracts on Disorders of Red Cells and Erythropoiesis Presented at Haematocon 2016–2017

Disorders of red cells and erythropoiesis encompass a vast array of inherited and acquired conditions, several of which are important not just medically but are also concern public health and policy making. Research in India in this area has been plentiful and has, in the past, focused on the laboratory diagnosis and clinical management of these disorders as well as their basic underlying pathogenesis. In the last 2 years too, papers presented at the annual national conferences of the Indian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, ISHBT (Haematocon 2016 and 2017) presented a snapshot of the contemporary research activities that are ongoing in various academic and other centres. This mini-review analyzes and summarizes the salient findings of the original research abstracts presented. The papers are divided into broad subsections of α- and β- thalassemias with the hemoglobinopathies, iron deficiency and overload states, red cell membranopathies and enzymopathies, and acquired hemolytic anemias.