About ITP & Platelets

ITP, immune thrombocytopenia, is an autoimmune disease in which the body mounts an immune attack toward platelets. They are marked as foreign by the immune system and eliminated in the spleen and sometimes, the liver. In addition to increased platelet destruction, some people with ITP also have impaired platelet production.


Platelets are relatively small, irregularly shaped components of our blood. They are required to maintain the integrity of our blood vessel walls and for blood to clot. Without a sufficient number of platelets, a person with ITP is subject to spontaneous bleeding or bruising.

People with ITP often have bruises or small purple spots on their skin (petechiae) where their blood has escaped from their veins or capillaries. Spontaneous bleeding can also occur in the mucus membranes on the inside of the mouth or in the gastrointestinal tract. It is possible, with a decreased number of platelets, to have a spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage. ITP is often accompanied by fatigue and sometimes depression.