Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effect of iron chelation therapy on hematologic response in a patient with severe aplastic anemia. Methods A patient diagnosed as severe aplastic anemia was treated with immunosuppressive therapy. Eleven months later, no improvement on peripheral blood cell count was available and transfusion -related iron overload was confirmed. Therefore, regular iron chelation therapy with deferoxamine was administrated. Results The patient became platelet transfusion-independent in5 months from the beginning of iron chelation therapy, red blood cell transfusion-independent in 7 months, and the iron chelation therapy lasted 9 months. A complete remission was achieved in 13 months from the beginning of iron chelation therapy, and no adverse effect happened. Conclusion Monitoring serum ferritin is necessary to transfusion -denpendent patients with bone marrow failure, and timely iron chelation therapy is helpful to achieve hematologic response for iron overload patients.

Key words: iron chelation therapy, aplastic anemia, hematologic response