Hematology & Clotting Disorders

What is hematology?

A pediatric hematologist is a doctor specially trained to handle blood disorders. All of the doctors at our clinic are board-certified in hematology and understand how blood disorders affect the health, well-being and growth of pediatric and young adult patients.

Pediatric clotting disorders

Blood is supposed to clot; this is what eventually stops your bleeding when you get a cut. Sometimes, blood clots too fast or too much; this can have dangerous consequences if a clot forms in a blood vessel and stops blood flow. Extreme forms of this are called thrombophilia. St. Jude Affiliate Clinic at Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital offers comprehensive thrombophilia testing and management of clotting disorders. We offer pre-operative evaluations, which are especially important before dental visits and orthopedic surgery.

We are one of the premier clinics in our region offering treatment for pediatric ITP. ITP, or immune thrombocytopenic purpura, is a bleeding disorder that occurs when the immune system destroys platelets in the blood. Those platelets are necessary for normal blood clotting. Too few platelets interfere with clotting. In children, sometimes this disorder comes after a viral infection. Treatment can include drug therapy or, in some cases, filtering antibodies out of the immune system.

Thalassemia is a blood disorder in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that help those cells carry oxygen to the body's tissues. Abnormal hemoglobin causes the body to destroy red blood cells, which leads to anemia. Other symptoms include bone deformities, fatigue, growth failure and shortness of breath. Our clinic offers management and counseling for thalassemia patients.

Anemia occurs when the body produces fewer red blood cells than normal. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body's tissues. When the body's tissues do not get enough oxygen, effects range from paleness to increased heart rate to fatigue to dizziness and headache. Treatments for anemia can include vitamins, antibiotics or, in some cases, surgery or blood transfusions. St. Jude Affiliate Clinic at Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital cares for children and young adults with all types of anemia, including both congenital (hereditary) and acquired (the result of another disease or disorder) anemias. Check out our clinic's sickle cell anemia management program.

Infusion suite

Should your child's treatment include transfusions of blood or platelets, or infusions of antibiotics or other medications, those treatments can be administered in our office. Our comfortable, child-friendly infusion suite offers a convenient, familiar location for treatments. Learn more about our infusion suite.