Red blood cells (RBCs) transport oxygen throughout the body and are able to pass through a complex of narrow capillaries due to their ability to deform. "The deformability of RBCs is an important ...

For patients with heart failure, blood pumps can be lifesaving. But the very forces that sustain circulation can also harm it, damaging red blood cells through hemolysis and compromising the body's ...

Healthy fresh red blood cells have a distinctive biconcave—or dumbbell—shape for efficient oxygen release. During refrigerated storage, red cells become energetically stressed and more spherical, ...