UKMLA PLAB AMC USMLE Prometric MCQ

Question Number 0793

Question:
An 8 year old child presents with frequent nosebleeds. His mother remarks that her son shows signs of extreme fatigue and has had continual colds. The boy is noted to be rather short for his age. A sample of the boy's blood is taken and his red blood cells are treated with a chemical that crosslinks DNA. The cells show signs of marked chromosome breakage. This boy's anemia is likely to be secondary to:

a) the presence of hemoglobin S
b) the presence of hemoglobin M
c) a deficiency of folate
d) bone marrow failure
e) an inability to manufacture heme