My mother will be turning 90 years of age, she has low homeglobin and hemotocrit? What does this mean?"?

Question

The doctor wants to give her blood transfusion. Does it mean she has infections or not?

Answer 1

Hematocrit

Definition

The hematocrit measures how much space in the blood is occupied by red blood cells. It is useful when evaluating a person for anemia.

Purpose

Blood is made up of red and white blood cells, and plasma. A decrease in the number or size of red cells also decreases the amount of space they occupy, resulting in a lower hematocrit. An increase in the number or size of red cells increases the amount of space they occupy, resulting in a higher hematocrit. Thalassemia is a condition which can cause an increased number of red blood cells but a decreased size and hematocrit.

The hematocrit is usually done on a person with symptoms of anemia. An anemic person has fewer or smaller than normal red cells. A low hematocrit, combined with other abnormal blood tests, confirms the diagnosis.

Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein in red blood cells. Low hemoglobin is another way of describing a low red blood cell count (anemia). Anemia can have many causes, including:

* Vitamin and iron deficiencies
* Acute or chronic bleeding
* Hormone deficiencies, such as thyroid hormone or testosterone
* Chronic diseases, such as kidney failure, cancer and Crohn's disease
* Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus
* Side effect of certain medications, such as chemotherapy drugs

Treatment depends on the underlying cause.

Answer 2

No, both mean that she has a low red blood cell count, most likely because the part of her body that makes red cells is beginning to fail. You might wish to get a second opinion on that particular solution and find out if the low count is the only thing that needs fixing.

Answer 3

no infection. the hemoglobin is a measure of oxygen carrying molecules that she has available in her blood. the hematocrit is a percentage of red blood cells to other cells in the blood. it is good to have normal limits of these so a blood transfusion is indicated for her

Answer 4

It means she is anemic, she hasn't enough red blood cells to carry the oxygen her body needs....she really needs that transfusion.

Answer 5

Some where between 25 & 30 I stopped looking forward to an age.

Answer 6

it likely means she is loosing blood somewhere, not usually related to infection

Answer 7

this means she has low blood...anemia