Question

What is the role of iron in blood?
A. It helps to transport oxygen.
B. It helps transport nutrients.
C. It gives the red colour to the blood
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The most common type of cell found in the blood is RBCs (red blood cells). In humans, as in all mammals, the mature RBC lacks a nucleus. This allows the cell to store more room for haemoglobin, and because of the protein haemoglobin, which contains a red-coloured compound called heme, human blood is red in colour.

Complete solution: Iron is an important element for producing blood. Approximately 70 percent of the iron in our body is stored in red blood cells called haemoglobin in the blood, and myoglobin in muscle cells. Haemoglobin, the material in red blood cells, brings oxygen from the lungs and delivers it to the heart and it is then transported across your body. Around two-thirds of the body's iron is in haemoglobin. If you don't have enough iron, the body can't produce sufficient healthy red blood cells that hold oxygen.
So, the correct answer is option A.

Additional Information: Hemoglobin, or Hb, is a protein molecule that consists of four subunits present in red blood cells (erythrocytes): two alpha subunits and two beta subunits. A centralized heme group that includes iron and binds one oxygen molecule is surrounded by each subunit, enabling four oxygen molecules to bind each haemoglobin molecule. Molecules bound to the heme groups with more oxygen are lighter red. As a consequence, oxygenated arterial blood is bright red when the Hb carries four oxygen molecules, while venous blood that is deoxygenated is a darker red.

Note: Just 1.5 percent of blood oxygen is immediately dissolved into the blood itself. Most of the oxygen is bound to a protein called haemoglobin, and 98.5 percent is brought to the tissues.