About Blood Cells
Blood cells are made in the bone marrow. The bone marrow is the soft, spongy material in the center of the bones that produces about 95 percent of the body’s blood cells.
There are other organs and systems in our bodies that help regulate blood cells. The lymph nodes, spleen, and liver help regulate the production, destruction, and differentiation (developing a specific function) of cells. The production and development of new cells is a process called hematopoiesis.
Blood cells formed in the bone marrow start out as a stem cell. A “stem cell” (or hematopoietic cell) is the initial phase of all blood cells. As the stem cell matures, several distinct cells evolve such as the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Immature blood cells are also called blasts. Some blasts stay in the marrow to mature and others travel to other parts of the body to develop into mature, functioning blood cells.
Blood cells Three main types of cell are present in blood: erythrocytes or red cells, leucocytes or white cells, and platelets. Red blood cells contain the protein haemoglobin, which is responsible for the transport of oxygen from the lungs to tissues, and of carbon dioxide from tissues to the lungs. White blood cells are generally concerned with protection against invading micro‐organisms, and platelets with the ability of the blood to coagulate, and so prevent excessive blood loss through bleeding.