Doctors encouraged to consider ‘classic haematology’ as specialty

Clinicians at the start of their medical careers should consider pursuing “classic haematology”, one of the field’s most distinguished leaders has urged.

In a wide-ranging talk providing mechanistic insights into anaemia, Dr Mohandas Narla of the New York Blood Centre delivered the keynote Liam O’Connell Lecture at this year’s Haematology Association of Ireland (HAI) Annual Meeting.

Dr Narla, who was President of the American Society of Haematology in 2024, said he was delighted to be invited to speak at the Association’s conference and paid tribute to Dr O’Connell’s contributions to the specialty.

During his address, Dr Narla encouraged young doctors to dedicate their careers to haematology.

“I am doing this for 50 years and 99 per cent of what I have done is with other people,” he said.

“I have been very privileged to work in the US, France, and the UK and made lifelong friends,” he said.

“Young people, I strongly urge you to consider classic haematology as a discipline.”

A former engineer, Dr Narla said he became a haematologist “by accident” and observed that there had been “a lot of Nobel Prize wins in red [blood] cells”.

However, he said often “people think it is a very simple cell; it has no nucleus, no mitochondria, no nothing, and some people call it, which offends me greatly, a sack of haemoglobin.” 

He added that 70 per cent of all human cells are red blood cells, and that significant progress has been made in understanding their composition. Dr Narla also highlighted the spleen for its important role in haematology.

Reflecting on his research journey, he said: “After 35 years, I said I wanted to do something different, so I decided to pose myself a challenge – I really want to know how the red blood cell is formed in the bone marrow.”

“How does a stem cell become a stem cell?” he asked, before outlining elements of his research.

Discussing anaemia, Dr Narla noted that it affects almost two billion people worldwide and can result from reduced production of red blood cells in the bone marrow or from a range of disorders, including sickle cell disease (SCD). He said SCD remains under-recognised globally and does not receive the attention it deserves. However, he highlighted that India is now screening 400 million citizens for the condition.

He also noted that hereditary ovalocytosis is common in malaria-endemic regions such as Malaysia, Indonesia, southern Thailand, and Papua New Guinea, and that the condition provides some protection against all forms of malaria.

In the foreword to the conference programme, HAI President Prof Paul Browne wrote that the Association was especially honoured this year by the participation of Dr Narla. He described Dr Narla as a world expert on red cells and a true global leader in haematology for many decades.