Blood vs Artificial Blood

Medical science has seen many breakthroughs, including the substitution of body parts. Knee replacements substitute bone and cartilage for metal and plastic. An artificial heart is a mechanical pump, pumping blood to where it is needed around the body.

Blood is vital to the body in many ways. It is the mechanism that carries nutrients and oxygen to parts of body as required and removes waste and Carbon Dioxide. Scientists are yet to discover an artificial substitution for blood due to the complexities and essential properties of this connective tissue. This essay aims to point out the essential roles of blood within the body and highlight many of the challenges faced with producing a viable artificial blood solution.

Human Blood (HB) consists of 4 main elements; red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), platelets and blood plasma (BP). RBC gives blood the ability to carry oxygen. Each RBC contains approximately 2.57 Haemoglobin which have the ability to bond to 4 oxygen molecules making blood an extremely efficient oxygen carrier.

WBC play an important part in homeostasis, protecting the body from infectious disease. Microphages and neutrophils engulf invading microorganisms while lymphocytes produce specific immune responses.

Platelets are tiny cellular elements that travel in the blood stream and clot blood when bleeding occurs. Chemical reactions activate platelets which become ‘sticky’ adhering to blood vessel walls at the site of bleeding, forming white blood clots.

BP is 91% water and provides an excellent transport medium due to the water’s solvent ability allowing the transport of many substances including nutrients, waste products, gases and hormones. BP also contains a variety of proteins such as Albumin which contribute to osmatic pressure, pulling tissue fluid into capillaries.

Today blood transfusions are common place but medical staff must make sure that the correct blood types are used. There are 4 blood types; A, B, AB,...