Which is more important red blood cells or white blood cells? – Secondary 11

Question: Which is more important red blood cells or white blood cells?
- Keywords:
  blood
Asked by kamilo12 to clairemarieroberts, Faye, Martin, Mus, Pete on 24 Apr 2012.
- Pete Etchells answered on 24 Apr 2012:
  
  Brilliant question! Red and white blood cells do quite different things, and they’re important in their own ways. White cells are part of our immune system, and defend our body against invasions from diseases. If we didn’t have them then, we wouldn’t be able to fight off infections, which would have very serious consequences. Red blood cells, on the other hand, are used to transport oxygen from the lungs to all over the body. Oxygen is used to convert food into the energy we need to run everything, and without it we would die very quickly. So really, we can’t live without either types of blood cell!
- Faye Didymus answered on 24 Apr 2012:
  
  Hi kamilo12! Red and white blood cells are both really important…we wouldn’t be able survive without one of them so they’re both equally important. Red blood cells carry oxygen around our bodies, which helps our organs and muscles to function. Without red blood cells, tissues (like muscles and organs) wouldn’t have any oxygen and they would start to die. White blood cells help us to fight off bugs and infections so they’re really important too!

Question: Which is more important red blood cells or white blood cells?