When you have a blood transfusion, how long does the new blood stay in the syste!
Question: What is usually transfused is red blood cells, and they probably stay around less than 3 months:
The normal lifetime of a red blood cell is about 3 months. The cells have specific sugar structures on their surfaces. As they age, the sugars change, and this provides a clock that tells the body how old a particular cell is. When a cell gets old - at about 3 months - the cells of the spleen eat and dismantle the RBC.
I expect that transfused blood will be treated the same way by the body, unless there is an acute problem due to mismatched blood types.
Answers: What is usually transfused is red blood cells, and they probably stay around less than 3 months:
The normal lifetime of a red blood cell is about 3 months. The cells have specific sugar structures on their surfaces. As they age, the sugars change, and this provides a clock that tells the body how old a particular cell is. When a cell gets old - at about 3 months - the cells of the spleen eat and dismantle the RBC.
I expect that transfused blood will be treated the same way by the body, unless there is an acute problem due to mismatched blood types.
hard to say... as the blood circulates through the spleen damaged red blood cells are removed....perhaps the very last red cell could survive for about 120 days plus or minus a few....