A haematologist is a specialist trained doctor who treats conditions related to the blood, such as anaemia, clotting problems, and blood cancers.

They also diagnose and manage conditions affecting the organs that produce blood, like the bone marrow, spleen and lymphatic system.

Diseases of the blood (leukaemia) and lymphoid glands (lymphoma and myeloma) are usually treated by a haematologist.

Haematologists may also treat genetic disorders such as haemophilia and thalassemia, blood clotting disorders including the development of a blood clot and bone marrow disorders that may require bone marrow transplantation.

Specialist haematologists also manage patients who require blood transfusions.

Many haematologists also work in a diagnostic laboratory examining microscopic samples of blood and bone marrow or performing specialised investigations to establish a diagnosis in patients with blood disorders.