Anemia is defined as a condition in which the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells in order for oxygen to be carried to tissues (Mayo Clinic, 2010). Red blood cells are shaped like discs and resemble doughnuts without holes in the middle (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 2010). Red blood cells are manufactured in bone marrow, and their function is to carry oxygen throughout the body and to remove waste from the body in the form of carbon dioxide (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 2010). Anemia can also manifest if red blood cells do not contain enough hemoglobin, an iron-rich protein that lends to the red color of blood (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 2010). Hemoglobin is the actual protein that aids red blood cells in the transport of oxygen from the lungs to various bodily tissues (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 2010)....
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