Hemoglobin Process

The contents of your blood are always working for you, behaving in certain ways because of the genetic materials in your body. Hemoglobin is one such piece in that human "blueprint."

It Starts With DNA

• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is genetic material that connects with chemical molecules (such as sugar) already in the body to form nucleotides. Nucleotides basically make up the curves of a DNA double helix while adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine make up the genetic base pairs that look like rungs on the double helix's ladder. DNA is an essential component of hemoglobin -- the protein ultimately in charge of moving oxygen through the blood.

Pick Up and Delivery

• Your body needs oxygen to survive. Hemoglobin is the proverbial "mailman" in its pickup and delivery. Red blood cells hook up with oxygen from the lungs at the start of the trip. Hemoglobin then lets go of oxygen when the blood reaches vital tissues -- tissues that don't already have oxygen readily present. This is one reason you need to breathe..

Fun Fact

• People with different blood types can have the same type of hemoglobin. A person with type O blood can have identical hemoglobin to someone with type A. While the hemoglobin is the same, different genetic materials hold the cell walls together.