Basically classified by causative mechanism, types of congenital hemolytic anemia include:

- Genetic conditions of RBC Membrane

- Hereditary spherocytosis

- Hereditary elliptocytosis

- Genetic conditions of RBC metabolism (enzyme defects). This group is sometimes called "congenital nonspherocytic (hemolytic) anemia", which is a term for a congenital hemolytic anemia without spherocytosis, and usually excluding hemoglobin abnormalities as well, but rather encompassing defects of glycolysis in the erythrocyte.

- Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD or favism)

- Pyruvate kinase deficiency

- Aldolase A deficiency

- Hemoglobinopathies/genetic conditions of hemoglobin

- Sickle cell anemia

- Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia

- Thalassemia

Hereditary spherocytosis is the most common disorder of the red cell membrane and affects 1 in 2,000 people of Northern European ancestry. According to Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, the frequency is at least 1 in 5,000.

Acquired hemolytic anemia may be caused by immune-mediated causes, drugs and other miscellaneous causes.

- Immune-mediated causes could include transient factors as in "Mycoplasma pneumoniae" infection (cold agglutinin disease) or permanent factors as in autoimmune diseases like autoimmune hemolytic anemia (itself more common in diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia).

- Spur cell hemolytic anemia

- Any of the causes of hypersplenism (increased activity of the spleen), such as portal hypertension.

- Acquired hemolytic anemia is also encountered in burns and as a result of certain infections (e.g. malaria).

- Lead poisoning resulting from the environment causes non-immune hemolytic anemia.

- Runners can suffer hemolytic anemia due to "footstrike hemolysis", owing to the destruction of red blood cells in feet at foot impact.

- Low-grade hemolytic anemia occurs in 70% of prosthetic heart valve recipients, and severe hemolytic anemia occurs in 3%.

Hemolytic anemia affects nonhuman species as well as humans. It has been found, in a number of animal species, to result from specific triggers.

Some notable cases include hemolytic anemia found in black rhinos kept in captivity, with the disease, in one instance, affecting 20% of captive rhinos at a specific facility. The disease is also found in wild rhinos.

Dogs and cats differ slightly from humans in some details of their RBC composition and have altered susceptibility to damage, notably, increased susceptibility to oxidative damage from consumption of onion. Garlic is less toxic to dogs than onion.

Experimental gene therapy exists to treat hereditary spherocytosis in lab mice; however, this treatment has not yet been tried on humans due to all of the risks involved in human gene therapy.

Congenital hemolytic anemia (or hereditary hemolytic anemia) refers to hemolytic anemia which is primarily due to congenital disorders.

Certain gastrointestinal disorders can cause anemia. The mechanisms involved are multifactorial and not limited to malabsorption but mainly related to chronic intestinal inflammation, which causes dysregulation of hepcidin that leads to decreased access of iron to the circulation.

- "Helicobacter pylori" infection.

- Gluten-related disorders: untreated celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Anemia can be the only manifestation of celiac disease, in absence of gastrointestinal or any other symptoms.

- Inflammatory bowel disease.

Typical causes of microcytic anemia include:

- Childhood

- Iron deficiency anemia, by far the most common cause of anemia in general and of microcytic anemia in particular

- Thalassemia

- Adulthood

- Iron deficiency anemia

- Sideroblastic anemia, In congenital sideroblastic anemia the MCV (mean corpuscular volume) is either low or normal. In contrast, the MCV is usually high in the much more common acquired sideroblastic anemia.

- Anemia of chronic disease, although this more typically causes normochromic, normocytic anemia. Microcytic anemia has been discussed by Weng et al.

- Lead poisoning

- Vitamin B (pyridoxine) deficiency

Other causes that are typically thought of as causing normocytic anemia or macrocytic anemia must also be considered, and the presence of two or more causes of anemia can distort the typical picture.

There are five main causes of microcytic anemia forming the acronym TAILS. Thalassemia, Anemia of chronic disease, Iron deficiency, Lead poisoning and Congenital sideroblastic anemia. Only the first three are common in most parts of the world. In theory, these three can be differentiated by their red blood cell (RBC) morphologies. Anemia of chronic disease shows unremarkable RBCs, iron deficiency shows anisocytosis, anisochromia and elliptocytosis, and thalessemias demonstrate target cells and coarse basophilic stippling. In practice though elliptocytes and anisocytosis are often seen in thalessemia and target cells occasionally in iron deficiency. All three may show unremarkable RBC morphology. Coarse basophlic stippling is one reliable morphologic finding of thalessemia which does not appear in iron deficiency or anemia of chronic disease. The patient should be in an ethnically at risk group and the diagnosis is not confirmed without a confirmatory method such as hemoglobin HPLC, H body staining, molecular testing or another reliable method. Course basophlic stippling occurs in other cases as seen in Table 1

G6PD-deficient individuals do not appear to acquire any illnesses more frequently than other people, and may have less risk than other people for acquiring ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.

PNH is rare, with an annual rate of 1-2 cases per million. The prognosis without disease-modifying treatment is 10–20 years. Many cases develop in people who have previously been diagnosed with aplastic anemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. The fact that PNH develops in MDS also explains why there appears to be a higher rate of leukemia in PNH, as MDS can sometimes transform into leukemia.

25% of female cases of PNH are discovered during pregnancy. This group has a high rate of thrombosis, and the risk of death of both mother and child are significantly increased (20% and 8% respectively).

Causes of sideroblastic anemia can be categorized into three groups: congenital sideroblastic anemia, acquired clonal sideroblastic anemia, and acquired reversible sideroblastic anemia. All cases involve dysfunctional heme synthesis or processing. This leads to granular deposition of iron in the mitochondria that form a ring around the nucleus of the developing red blood cell. Congenital forms often present with normocytic or microcytic anemia while acquired forms of sideroblastic anemia are often normocytic or macrocytic.

- Congenital sideroblastic anemia

- X-linked sideroblastic anemia: This is the most common congenital cause of sideroblastic anemia and involves a defect in ALAS2, which is involved in the first step of heme synthesis. Although X-linked, approximately one third of patients are women due to skewed X-inactivation (lyonizations).

- Autosomal recessive sideroblastic anemia involves mutations in the SLC25A38 gene. The function of this protein is not fully understood, but it is involved in mitochondrial transport of glycine. Glycine is a substrate for ALAS2 and necessary for heme synthesis. The autosomal recessive form is typically severe in presentation.

- Genetic syndromes: Rarely, sideroblastic anemia may be part of a congenital syndrome and present with associated findings, such as ataxia, myopathy, and pancreatic insufficiency.

- Acquired clonal sideroblastic anemia

- Clonal sideroblastic anemias fall under the broader category of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Three forms exist and include refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts (RARS), refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts and thrombocytosis (RARS-T), and refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia and ringed sideroblasts (RCMD-RS). These anemias are associated with increased risk for leukemic evolution.

- Acquired reversible sideroblastic anemia

- Causes include excessive alcohol use (the most common cause of sideroblastic anemia), pyridoxine deficiency, lead poisoning, and copper deficiency. Excess zinc can indirectly cause sideroblastic anemia by decreasing absorption and increasing excretion of copper. Antimicrobials that may lead to sideroblastic anemia include isoniazid, chloramphenicol, cycloserine, and linezolid.

Drug induced hemolysis has large clinical relevance. It occurs when drugs actively provoke red blood cell destruction. It can be divided in the following manner:

- Drug-induced autoimmune hemolytic anemia

- Drug-induced nonautoimmune hemolytic anemia

A total of four mechanisms are usually described, but there is some evidence that these mechanisms may overlap.

Sideroblastic anemias are often described as responsive or non-responsive in terms of increased hemoglobin levels to pharmacological doses of vitamin B.

1- Congenital: 80% are responsive, though the anemia does not completely resolve.

2- Acquired clonal: 40% are responsive, but the response may be minimal.

3- Acquired reversible: 60% are responsive, but course depends on treatment of the underlying cause.

Severe refractory sideroblastic anemias requiring regular transfusions and/or that undergo leukemic transformation (5-10%) significantly reduce life expectancy.

The issue is thought of as representing any of the following:

- a decreased production of normal-sized red blood cells (e.g., anemia of chronic disease, aplastic anemia);

- an increased production of HbS as seen in sickle cell disease (not sickle cell trait);

- an increased destruction or loss of red blood cells (e.g., hemolysis, posthemorrhagic anemia);

- an uncompensated increase in plasma volume (e.g., pregnancy, fluid overload);

- a B2 (riboflavin) deficiency

- a B6 (pyridoxine) deficiency

- or a mixture of conditions producing microcytic and macrocytic anemia.

Blood loss, suppressed production of RBCs or hemolysis represent most cases of normocytic anemia. In blood loss, morphologic findings are generally unremarkable except after 12 to 24 hrs where polychromasia appears. For reduced production of RBCs, like with low erythropoietin, the RBC morphology is unremarkable. Patients with disordered RBC production, e.g. myelodysplastic syndrome, may have a dual population of elliptocytes, teardrop cells, or other poikilocytes as well as a nucleated RBCs. Hemolysis will often demonstrate poikilocytes specific to a cause or mechanism. E.g. Bite cells and/or blistor cells for oxidative hemolysis, Acanthocytes for pyruvate kinase deficiency or McLeod phenotype, Sickle cells for sickle cell anemia, Spherocytes for immune-mediated hemolysis or hereditary spherocytosis, Elliptocytosis for iron deficiency or hereditary elliptocytosis and schistocytes for intravascular hemolysis. Many hemolytic anemias show multiple poikilocytes such as G6PD deficiency which may show blister and bites cells as well as shistocytes. Neonatal hemolysis may not follow the classic patterns as in adults

Fluid overload (hypervolemia) causes decreased hemoglobin concentration and apparent anemia:

- General causes of hypervolemia include excessive sodium or fluid intake, sodium or water retention and fluid shift into the intravascular space.

Acquired hemolytic anemia can be divided into immune and non-immune mediated forms of hemolytic anemia.

Overall, hemoglobin C disease is one of the more benign hemoglobinopathies. Mild-to-moderate reduction in RBC lifespan may accompany from mild hemolytic anemia. Individuals with hemoglobin C disease have sporadic episodes of musculoskeletal (joint) pain. People with hemoglobin C disease can expect to lead a normal life.

Anisocytosis is identified by RDW and is classified according to the size of RBC measured by MCV. According to this, it can be divided into

- Anisocytosis with microcytosis – Iron deficiency, sickle cell anemia

- Anisocytosis with macrocytosis – Folate or vitamin B deficiency, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, cytotoxic chemotherapy, chronic liver disease, myelodysplastic syndrome

Increased RDW is seen in iron deficiency anemia and decreased or normal in thalassemia major (Cooley's anemia), thalassemia intermedia

- Anisocytosis with normal RBC size – Early iron, vit B12 or folate deficiency, dimorphic anemia, Sickle cell disease, chronic liver disease, Myelodysplastic syndrome

Drug-induced nonautoimmune hemolytic anemia is a form of hemolytic anemia.

Non-immune drug induced hemolysis can occur via oxidative mechanisms. This is particularly likely to occur when there is an enzyme deficiency in the antioxidant defense system of the red blood cells. An example is where antimalarial oxidant drugs like primaquine damage red blood cells in Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in which the red blood cells are more susceptible to oxidative stress due to reduced NADPH production consequent to the enzyme

deficiency.

Some drugs cause RBC (red blood cell) lysis even in normal individuals. These include dapsone and sulfasalazine.

Non-immune drug-induced hemolysis can also arise from drug-induced damage to cell volume control mechanisms; for example drugs can directly or indirectly impair regulatory volume decrease mechanisms, which become activated during hypotonic RBC swelling to return the cell to a normal volume. The consequence of the drugs actions are irreversible cell swelling and lysis (e.g. ouabain at very high doses).

In 2003, the incidence of Rh(D) sensitization in the United States was 6.8 per 1000 live births; 0.27% of women with an Rh incompatible fetus experience alloimmunization.

Complications of HDN could include kernicterus, hepatosplenomegaly, inspissated (thickened or dried) bile syndrome and/or greenish staining of the teeth, hemolytic anemia and damage to the liver due to excess bilirubin. Similar conditions include acquired hemolytic anemia, congenital toxoplasma and syphilis infection, congenital obstruction of the bile duct and cytomegalovirus infection.

- High at birth or rapidly rising bilirubin

- Prolonged hyperbilirubinemia

- Bilirubin Induced Neuorlogical Dysfunction

- Cerebral Palsy

- Kernicterus

- Neutropenia

- Thrombocytopenia

- Hemolytic Anemia - MUST NOT be treated with iron

- Late onset anemia - Must NOT be treated with iron. Can persist up to 12 weeks after birth.

In general, AIHA in children has a good prognosis and is self-limiting. However, if it presents within the first two years of life or in the teenage years, the disease often follows a more chronic course, requiring long-term immunosuppression, with serious developmental consequences. The aim of therapy may sometimes be to lower the use of steroids in the control of the disease. In this case, splenectomy may be considered, as well as other immunosuppressive drugs. Infection is a serious concern in patients on long-term immunosuppressant therapy, especially in very young children (less than two years).

Microcytic anaemia is any of several types of anaemia characterized by small red blood cells (called microcytes). The normal mean corpuscular volume (abbreviated to MCV on full blood count results) is 80-100 fL, with smaller cells (100 fL) as macrocytic (the latter occur in macrocytic anemia).The MCV is the average red blood cell size.

In microcytic anaemia, the red blood cells (erythrocytes) are usually also hypochromic, meaning that the red blood cells appear paler than usual. This is reflected by a lower-than-normal mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), a measure representing the amount of hemoglobin per unit volume of fluid inside the cell; normally about 320-360 g/L or 32-36 g/dL. Typically, therefore, anemia of this category is described as "microcytic, hypochromic anaemia".

Congenital hypoplastic anemia (or constitutional aplastic anemia) is a type of aplastic anemia which is primarily due to a congenital disorder.

Associated genes include "TERC", "TERT", "IFNG", "NBS1", "PRF1", and "SBDS".

Examples include:

- Fanconi anemia

- Diamond-Blackfan anemia

Runner’s macrocytosis is a phenomenon of increased red blood cell size as a compensatory mechanism for increased red blood cell turnover. The impact forces from running can lead to red blood cell hemolysis and accelerate red blood cell production. This can shift the ratio of red blood cells towards younger, larger cells. This shift may be reflected in higher than normal mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values, an indicator of red blood cell size.

This is not a pathological condition but may indicate a propensity toward iron deficiency anemia due to high red blood cell turnover.