why can’t people with anemia (not enough iron in blood) get blood transfers from donors who have hemochromatosis (too much iron in blood)?
In: Biology
Two points to make about your question:
1. Anemia may be due to low iron, which causes ineffective red blood cell production in your bone marrow, but more broadly anemia just means you have a low number of red blood cells around (which we characterize by measuring the hemoglobin or hematocrit on a routine lab test called a CBC). If the anemia is severe, you may require a blood transfusion but otherwise we try to treat the underlying cause of the anemia. If it’s due to low iron we can give iron supplements (either orally or through an IV). Or if it’s another cause (like bleeding) we try to address that problem.
2. Practically speaking hospitals use what’s called packed red blood cells (PRBCs) from a blood bank (most hospitals have their own) for transfusions. These have been processed, tested, and have preservatives added. So while we theoretically could take blood directly from someone and give it to someone else (assuming the blood types are compatible) it’s not a very scalable process.
Latest Answers