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Red blood cells are the cells that contains red colour to the blood.It is a combination of oxygen and hemoglobin which in turn is a combination of iron and other materials.It picks up the oxygen from breathing air and carry that oxygen from the lungs to the trillion of cells in the blood.This oxygen released by the red blood cells helps in converting the nutrients in the food like meat and green vegetables to energy.This red blood cells also picks up the carbondioxide and carries it back to the lungs to be breathed out.

scientists recently found that red blood cell transfusions given to people undergone heart surgery could increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.They conducted a study and looked at the association between red blood cell transfusion and its adverse effect in over 8,500 cardiac surgery patients over eight years.
The study revealed that patients who received a red blood cell transfusion experienced a three-fold increase in complications arising from lack of oxygen to key organs such as in a heart attack or stroke.
They also found that the risks associated with transfusion occurred regardless of the hemoglobin levels (the oxygen-carrying substance in red blood cells), age, or level of patient disability at the time of transfusion.
Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body to supply vital organs.Heart surgeons have assumed that patients who have low red blood cell counts after surgery as a result of blood loss during or shortly after surgery would benefit from a transfusion of donated red blood cells.It was suggested now that such transfusions may cause more problems than they solve.The researchers now intend to carry out a larger study to see if changing transfusion guidelines could improve patient outcomes.It is also suggested that surgeons should think twice before giving their patients a transfusion.
Research is still carried out to find out how red cell transfusions may affect immunity or tissue oxygenation to cause these harmful effects, and to determine how stored donor blood products may be made safer prior to transfusion.