● Process of making blood cells is called hematopoiesis (The Aplastic Anemia

and MDS International Foundation,n.d.).

● Blood cells are made in the bone marrow, which is a spongy tissue located inside
the bone cavities (Sarode,2021). It contains young parent cells which called stem
cells (The Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation,n.d.).
● Stem cells in the red bone marrow are called hemocytoblasts which give rise to
all of the formed elements in the blood (Medline Plus,n.d.).
● The stem cell divides - first becomes an immature RBC, WBC, or
platelet-producing cell - then divides and matures further to becomes a mature
RBC, WBC or platelet (Sarode,2021).
● These blood-forming stem cells grow 3 types of blood cells - red blood
cells(RBC), white blood cells(WBC) and platelets (The Aplastic Anemia and MDS
International Foundation,n.d.).
● Blood consists of 45% RBC, less than 1% WBC and platelets and 55% plasma
(Medline Plus,n.d.).

RBC

➔ Requires adequate supplies of substrates, mainly erythropoietin(produced by

kidney), iron, vitamin B12, folate and heme (Braunstein,2022).
➔ Develop into a new RBC if a stem cell commits to becoming a cell called a
proerythroblast (Medline Plus,n.d.).
➔ The formation of a red blood cell takes about 2 days (Medline Plus).
➔ Survive about 120 days (Braunstein,2022).

WBC

➔ Two types(lymphocytes): T cells grow in thymus gland & B cells grow in lymph
nodes and spleen (WBC formation which occurs in the bone marrow)
(Sarode,2021).
➔ Survive ranging from a few hours to a few days (Sarode,2021).

Platelets

➔ Also known as thrombocytes (American Red Cross Blood Services,n.d.).

➔ Control bleeding in body (American Red Cross Blood Services,n.d.).
➔ Survive about 10 days (Sarode,2021).
 ➔ Massive bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes produce platelets. During the
development of megakaryocytes into giant cells, they fragment, releasing over
1,000 platelets.

References

American Red Cross Blood Services. (n.d.). Platelets and Thrombocytopenia.

What Are Platelets In Blood.

https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/platelet-information.html#:

~:text=Platelets%2C%20or%20thrombocytes%2C%20are%20small,white

%20blood%20cells%2C%20and%20platelets

Braunstein, E. M. (2022, July 6). Red blood cell production - Hematology and

oncology - MSD manual professional edition. MSD Manual Professional

Edition.

https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/hematology-and-oncology/appr

oach-to-the-patient-with-anemia/red-blood-cell-production
 Medline Plus. (n.d.). Red blood cell production.

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/anatomyvideos/000104.htm#:~:text=Red%20

blood%20cells%20are%20formed,a%20new%20red%20blood%20cell

Sarode, R. (2021, February 8). Formation of blood cells - Blood disorders - MSD

manual consumer version. MSD Manual Consumer Version.

https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/blood-disorders/biology-of-blood/form

ation-of-blood-cells

The Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation. (n.d.). How are blood cells

formed? https://www.aamds.org/questions/how-are-blood-cells-formed

Infograhpic references

Marieb, E. N. (2022, September 11). Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology (11th

ed.). Publisher.

Lancrin, C., Sroczynska, P., Serrano, A. G., Gandillet, A., Ferreras, C., Kouskoff, V., &

Lacaud, G. (2009, October 25). Blood cell generation from the hemangioblast. Journal

of Molecular Medicine, 88(2), 167–172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-009-0554-0

Westerman, M., & Porter, J. B. (2016, July). Red blood cell-derived microparticles: An overview. Blood

Cells, Molecules, and Diseases, 59, 134–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcmd.2016.04.003

Bain, B. J. (2021, April). Structure and function of red and white blood cells and platelets. Medicine, 49(4),

183–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mpmed.2021.01.001
Glenn, A., & Armstrong, C. E. (2019, March). Physiology of red and white blood cells. Anaesthesia &Amp;

Intensive Care Medicine, 20(3), 170–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mpaic.2019.01.001

Daho, A. B., Boughazi, M., & Petit, E. (2019). Detection of abnormal blood cells by segmentation and

classification. International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics, 11(1), 57.

https://doi.org/10.1504/ijmei.2019.096892

Medline Plus. (n.d.). Thrombocytopenia | Platelet disorders | MedlinePlus. MedlinePlus - Health

Information from the National Library of Medicine.

https://medlineplus.gov/plateletdisorders.html

Page, E. (2015, June 4). Platelets. Platelets on the Web.

https://www.ouhsc.edu/platelets/platelets/platelets%20intro.html#:~:text=Platelets%20

are%20produced%20from%20very,over%201%2C000%20platelets%20per%20megakary

ocyte

Duggal, N. (n.d.). How to increase your red blood cells. Healthline.

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-increase-red-blood-cells#foods-to-eat