• Question: Do we lose white blood cells when we stop the disease? Do new ones grow?

    Asked by Alexiadepablo to Sian, Max, Lizzie, Francis, Ben on 12 Mar 2018. This question was also asked by PBB.
    • Photo: Ben Mulhearn

      Ben Mulhearn answered on 12 Mar 2018:

      White blood cells are always present, even when we don’t have infections. When we get an infection, many of their numbers go up massively to help fight it off. Many of these cells die in the process, such as neutrophils. Other cells become long-lived cells after the infection has gone, called memory cells. We can have memory T cells and memory B cells. These cells ‘remember’ what the previous infection looks like so that if we become infected again, they can start to get to work really quickly.

    • Photo: Max Jamilly

      Max Jamilly answered on 12 Mar 2018:

      Your body is growing new white blood cells and clearing out old ones all the time. It’s a constant process of renewal because the cells grow old or get damaged as they do their job.

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