THE EFFECT OF SULPHAEMOGLOBIN ON RED CELL VIABILITY

Abstract
Sulphaemoglobinaemia was produced in rabbits by the injection of para-aminopropriophenone and calcium sulphide. The disappearance of this pigment from the blood was used as an index of red cell survival. Sulphaemoglobin disappeared in an exponential fashion, indicating a mean red cell life span of 36 days. The red cells were also tagged with Cr51, and this method of measuring erythrocyte life span yielded values strongly suggesting that sulphaemoglobin in the red cell impairs its viability and leads to random cell destruction. Under these conditions it would seem that the disappearance rate of sulphaemoglobin is not a true measure of red cell survival.

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