Why does liver disease cause low platelets?

Low platelets count is one of the major symptoms of liver disease.Reduction of platelets which is also known as Thrombocytopenia occurs mainly due to reduced thrombopoietin. Thrombopoietin is actually a glycoprotein hormone generated by the liver & kidney that regulates the creation of platelets.

Historically, thrombocytopenia was thought to arise from the increased pooling of platelets in the enlarged spleen due to portal hypertension. Portal hypertension may cause the spleen to enlarge and retain white blood cells and platelets, reducing the numbers of these cells and platelets in the blood, but spleen enlargement alone was not the only factor for reduction in platelets.Other factors such as Increased destruction of platelets within the spleen, intrasplenic production of autoantibodies, and plasma expansion resulting in hemodilution can also contribute to thrombocytopenia.