Question: Are the functions of red blood cells and white blood cells similar in anyway ?

Tatiana Trantidou answered on 19 Jun 2015:

Hi Alice,

red blood cells carry oxygen and transport it around our body to our organs and tissues, while they then take away the carbon dioxide from them. They can do this because they have hemoglobin, a molecule that is able to bind oxygen and carbon dioxide. Our red blood cells also help our hormones and nutrients to circulate around our body, they also regulate our body’s pH and temperature.
White blood cells are part of our immune system, in other words they are our defense mechanism against bacteria, viruses and other foreign particles. There are many types of white blood cells and each one specializes in a specific invader (bacteria, allergens, parasites and others).