Chapter 30, Problem 2WIO

Summary Introduction

To determine:

What might be the dangers of having too many red blood cells. If some athletes turn to blood doping to gain an unfair competitive advantage. For example, they may take supplements of erythropoietin, a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production. Why would increasing the number of circulating red blood cells help an athlete.

Concept introduction:

The blood is consists of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Red blood cell contains hemoglobin and is responsible for the transportation of oxygen and nutrients. White blood cells are involves in protection against foreign microorganisms and platelets are involved in clotting.