An erythrocyte has about 280 million molecules of hemoglobin, and each hemoglobin can transport up to four molecules of oxygen; therefore one RBC can carry up to 1.12 billion molecules of oxygen.
No, this does not necessarily indicate a disorder of erythropoiesis. If the number of RBCs is normal but the volume of blood plasma is reduced by dehydration, the concentration of RBCs will of course be elevated.
The kidneys are the major source of EPO, so if they are failing then a patient will have an EPO deficiency. This is treated by giving EPO in the course of hemodialysis. Without EPO replacement therapy, a patient suffering from renal insufficiency will be anemic.
In leukemia, stem cells are diverted from platelet production to the overproduction of leukocytes. Two of the functions of platelets are maintaining blood vessel structure and triggering blood clotting. In a platelet deficiency, blood vessels deteriorate, and vessel deterioration and impaired clotting result in spontaneous bleeding, hence the petechiae of the skin.
A mature platelet cannot synthesize proteins at the same level as a true cell, because protein synthesis requires the genetic code in DNA and ribosomes in the cytoplasm. Platelets have no nucleus and thus no nuclear DNA to initiate protein synthesis, nor do they have the ribosomes to assemble proteins in the cytosol. However they do have mitochondria, and mitochondria have their own DNA and synthesize some of their own proteins.
