How Is Blood Made and How Does the Heart Pump It?
Question:
Dear Digger Doug,
How is blood made, and how does the heart pump it?
Answer:
Dear Jude,
Blood is a fascinating substance that keeps us alive. There are three special cells that we call “blood cells”: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red blood cells carry oxygen to cells in our bodies, white blood cells fight infection, and platelets help blood clot when we get cut. These blood cells are created in our bone marrow. Our body has an amazing system that tells the bone marrow when we need more of each one of these cells. Special cells called hematopoietic (HEE-muh-toe-poy-ET-ik) cells can turn into any one of these three. The new cells leave the bone marrow and go into the blood to do their jobs. About 90% of blood is a liquid called plasma. It is composed of mostly water, and the body makes it from liquids we drink. As for how the blood gets pumped, we did an entire Discovery issue on that, which you can see by scanning the QR code below. When God designed blood, He created the liquid of life.
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