• Question: What is the difference between a white cell and a red cell?

    Asked by Sammy to Chris, Hayley, Jimi, Maddison, Omur on 14 Mar 2016. This question was also asked by Sharmin_the BEST.
    • Photo: Maddison Coke

      Maddison Coke answered on 14 Mar 2016:

      Red cells- have something called hemoglobin in them- this carries oxygen around the body so that we can live, every cell in your body need oxygen to live.

      White blood cells fight off infection. There are much less than a red blood cell but help us keep fit and healthy.

    • Photo: Omur Tastan

      Omur Tastan answered on 14 Mar 2016:

      They are very different from each other, except for living in the blood. Red cells are required for oxygen transport and white cells are required to fight invaders (Bacteria, viruses etc) to our body!

    • Photo: Jimi Wills

      Jimi Wills answered on 15 Mar 2016:

      There are a bunch of different types of blood cells… in general the red cells are the ones that carry oxygen around and the white cells are the one that fight diseases.

      Blood cells are made in the bone marrow.

      Red blood cells are packed with so much haemoglobin to carry the oxygen… by the time they’re fully grown they don’t even have any DNA left!

      There are other red cells though… they’re not really red, but they’re more closely related to red blood cells than white blood cells. Platelets are another type of red cell that are responsible for blood clotting (e.g. making a scab when you cut yourself) Platelets also have no DNA.

      The white cells are B-cells, which make anti bodies, T-cells which attack invading infections directly, natural killer cells which eat stuff, macrophages which wonder around the body and brain looking for bugs to snack on, and a bunch of other cells that empty nasty chemicals onto any bugs or infected cells in the body.

    • Photo: Hayley Moulding

      Hayley Moulding answered on 15 Mar 2016:

      Really good question. Well they are both blood cells but they have very different roles in the body. We have red blood cells to carry oxygen to our muscles and around our bodies from our lungs to everywhere else. We have white blood cells to help us fight against being ill. It is like an army. We need the red cells around to keep us fighting, and then the white blood cells are our weapons to fight with to stop the infection like the flu!!

Comments

  • Photo: Sammy

    Sammy commented on :

    Is there any other type of cells in our body?
    If yes, please tell me.

    • Photo: Hayley

      Hayley commented on :

      Yes, they are lots and lots. There are brain cells called neurons, glial cells and astrocytes (they are all in the brain). There are cells that make up our bones, there are cells that line our blood vessels called ‘endothelial cells’. Our skin is made up of lots and lots of cells called ‘epidermal cells.’ There are soooo many cells! 😀