Question

Apart from suffering from recurrent and prolonged infections, Marie Curie also experienced the following signs and symptoms: fatigue, rapid heart rate, pale skin, easy bruising, prolonged bleeding from cuts, and dizziness. Bone marrow transplant was not an option at that time and so blood transfusion was the treatment of choice.
Explain the reasoning behind these other signs and symptoms that Curie experienced. Assume her blood group was A negative. Which blood groups can she receive? Which blood groups can she not receive? Explain why.

Answer 1

Answer:

See below

Explanation:

Marie Curie died of aplastic anemia in 1934. Aplastic anemia is an autoimmune disease in which the body fails to produce blood cells in sufficient numbers. Blood cells are produced in the bone marrow by stem cells that reside there. Aplastic anaemia causes a deficiency of all blood cell types: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

Fatigue is a symptom of aplastic anemia as the blood doesn't have the necesarry red blood cells to transport the oxygen to the organs.

Rapid heart rate happens because the body senses the decrease of oxygen's concentration and the hearts beats faster to provide the organs of oxygen.

Pale skin happens because the blood vessels are contracted in order to provide oxygen to the important organs of the body as the brain and heart. It means that less blood reaches the face and it shows as pale skin.

Prolonged bleeding from cuts happens because there aren't enough platalets to produce a blood clot to stop the bleeding.

Dizziness happens because there is not enough oxygen arriving to the brain.

If she is A negative, she can only receive blood from others A negative donors, or O- donors. This is because she has antibodies to B, and to groups that have the protein Rh (+). So she can't receive blood either B nor Rh+.