SPLEEN HEALTH — THE FORGOTTEN IMMUNE ORGAN

The Organ Nobody Thinks About Until It Is Gone.

The spleen — the largest lymphoid organ in the body — filters 200ml of blood per minute, removes aged and damaged red blood cells, stores platelet and monocyte reserves for emergency deployment, and orchestrates antibody-mediated immune responses against encapsulated bacteria. Its dual architecture — red pulp for blood filtration and white pulp for immune surveillance — makes it a critical junction between the circulatory and immune systems. Splenomegaly (enlargement) is a marker of numerous chronic conditions including autoimmunity, infections, portal hypertension, and haematological disease. The 60,000+ people living without a spleen in the UK face life-long susceptibility to overwhelming sepsis from Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis — a risk that most GPs inadequately communicate or manage.