Polycythemia vera is a slow-growing form of leukemia. The disease increases blood viscosity, forms blood clots and causes complications that, if not treated promptly, can be life-threatening.

Polycythemia is an increase in the number of red blood cells in the blood. Accordingly, the treatment of polycythemia vera is mainly to reduce the consistency of the blood and prevent bleeding and clotting. One of these methods is to draw blood to reduce the number of red blood cells.