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Inside this Article:

Introduction to How Blood Works

Red Blood Cells

White Blood Cells

Lymphocytes and Platelets

Plasma

Blood Types


Introduction to How Blood Works

Blood is the most commonly tested part of the body, and it is truly the river of life. Every cell in the body gets its nutrients from blood. Understanding blood will help you as your doctor explains the results of your blood tests. In addition, you will learn amazing things about this incredible fluid and the cells in it.
Blood is a mixture of two components: cells and plasma. ...

Definition

Bloodless surgery is an approach to health care that began in the 1960s as simple avoidance of the use of transfused blood. It has grown over the last four decades, however, to include changed attitudes toward blood conservation as well as new technologies that minimize the need for transfusions during surgery. The Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut defines bloodless surgery as "...surgical and medical treatment without the administration of blood or blood-related products."
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Your body goes through significant changes when you become pregnant. The amount of blood in your body increases by about 20-30 percent, which increases the supply of iron and vitamins that the body needs to make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to other cells in your body. Many women lack the sufficient amount of iron needed for the second and third trimesters. When your body needs more iron than it has available, you can become anemic. Mild anemia is normal during pregnancy due to an increase in blood volume. More severe anemia, however, can put your baby at higher risk for anemia later in infancy. In addition, if you are significantly anemic during your first two trimesters, you are at greater risk for having a pre-term delivery or low-birth-weight baby. Being anemic also burdens the mother by increasing the risk of blood loss during labor and making it more difficult to fight infections.
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For Kansas City resident Twanna Green, feeling exhausted had become part of everyday life. Wherever the 25-year-old went, the burden of fatigue followed – and it often carried the agony of pounding headaches with it. The condition would often escalate to a degree so severe she could barely focus at work, walk for long distances or even conduct routine tasks such as walking up a flight of stairs. “It got so bad, I couldn't even brush my teeth in the morning without having to sit down,” Green said. “But I just tried to put it out of my mind.”

Somehow Green managed to cope with the nagging symptoms for several months until the pain and fatigue simply became too much to handle. After meeting with her primary care physician, it was discovered that Green's symptoms were the result of low hemoglobin – a vital component in the production of red blood cells.
To avoid more serious health effects, Green's doctor gave her two options for immediate treatment: receive a blood transfusion or undergo iron infusion therapy.
Somewhat unnerved by the idea of a blood transfusion, infusion therapy was the only conceivable option for Green. And there was only one source her doctor recommended – Saint Luke's Blood Management Program.
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Eating proper foods raises platelets. Low blood platelet is called thrombocytopenia and can result in excessive bleeding when injury occurs. Platelets are the tiny cells in your blood that function to take part in the clotting process. Each platelet contains granules that enhance the platelets' ability to stick to each other and the surface of a damaged blood vessel wall. An adequate number of platelets prevents hemorrhaging from a ruptured blood vessel. You can naturally increase your platelets to ensure the prevention of a leakage of red blood cells and lessen the chance of hemorrhage.
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Raising your hemoglobin count will ensure that your organs have enough oxygen and that you are properly energized.
Keeping your hemoglobin count within the required parameters is essential for good health. Your bone marrow requires iron to produce a protein called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin binds oxygen to itself and transports it to the organs of the body, ensuring their optimum performance. When the hemoglobin count drops, it results in a condition called anemia. There are many reasons for anemia to occur, and correcting these will automatically raise your hemoglobin levels.
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