True or False? Red blood cells are key for oxygen transport, carbon dioxide transport, and maintaining electroneutrality in the blood.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not applicable
• D. Cannot determine

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is understanding what red blood cells actually do in gas transport and ion balance. Red blood cells are essential for oxygen delivery because hemoglobin binds O2 in the lungs and releases it to tissues. They also participate in carbon dioxide transport through two routes: some CO2 binds to hemoglobin, and CO2 is converted to bicarbonate inside the red cell and then moves into plasma. The chloride shift helps maintain electrical balance across the red cell membrane during this gas-exchange process, but this is a cellular mechanism, not a system-wide way to keep the blood electrically neutral. Crucially, most CO2 is transported as bicarbonate in plasma, not solely by red cells, so saying RBCs are the key player in all three functions overstates their role. For these reasons, the statement is not accurate.