Biconcave disc characteristic red color and transport oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. Mature red blood cells are round and biconcave because they lack a nucleus and unlike other cells, red cells require a small amount of oxygen for its metabolism and most oxygen is freed into the tissues. The absence of nucleus, ribosomes, and mitochondria partly contributes to the red blood cell’s disc-like structure which leaves room for hundreds of millions of hemoglobin molecules found within the cells. Hemoglobin is a red and iron-rich protein that merges with oxygen to carry oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues. Both
Packed red blood cells as anaphylaxis, red blood cell breakdown, infection, volume overload, and lung injury. With current preparation methods in the developed world the risk of viral infections such as hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS are less than one in a million. However, the risks of infection are higher in low income countries. Packed red blood cells are produced from whole blood or by apheresis. They typically last for three to six weeks. The widespread use of packed red blood cells began in the 1960s. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in