The main job of red blood cells, or erythrocytes, is to carry oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues and carbon dioxide as a waste product, away from the tissues and back to the lungs. Hemoglobin (Hgb) is an important protein in the red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of our body.
Carbon dioxide is actually formed in the cells as a result of the chemical reaction taking place. This waste product is then excreted through the blood plasma and red blood cells. While the red blood cells play a major role in eliminating carbon dioxide from the cells, blood plasma also accounts for a small amount of carbon dioxide removal.
