Hi.

People with historic generations living at high altitudes capture more oxygen in their red blood cells.

Would a transfusion to a person without that extra affinity be transferred, at least temporarily ?   Has it ever been tried to patients with deficient lung oxygenation ?

Do you know if this is strictly an adaptation of the blood itself, or does it also include changes in physiology, like bigger arteries and lungs?

I always learned/read to be a blood-only characteristic. 😶

One random article of hundreds ---> https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7416157/

 

This article seems to suggest that all blood adapts in some ways to higher altitudes, even after just a couple of weeks: https://www.science.org/content/article/two-weeks-mountains-can-change-your-blood-months#:~:text=The most recent finding%3A Even,after descending to lower elevations.

Quote

The most recent finding: Even short exposures to high elevation can unleash a complex cascade of changes within red blood cells that make it easier for them to cope with low-oxygen conditions. What's more, these changes persist for weeks and possibly months, even after descending to lower elevations.