For Science Literacy Week 2022, some members of our CBR Knowledge Translation Committee have joined forces to co-create a social media campaign, sharing blood facts and celebrating science with #CBRSciLitWeek. More posts will be shared throughout the week!

By: Steven Jiang, MSc Student, Kim Lab

Imagine you are preparing Thanksgiving dinner for your family. You are peeling potatoes, but you accidentally cut yourself. Ouch! Your finger is bleeding. However, thanks to the amazing blood coagulation system in your body, a scab forms and the bleeding stops within a few minutes. Without blood coagulation, you could potentially bleed to death, even with an injury as small as this.

How does blood coagulation work? Which cells and proteins take part in the process?

Two important players are:

• Platelets: Tiny cells that stop bleeding. Normally, they are dormant, but when you get hurt, they become “activated” and start forming clots
• Coagulation factors: Proteins that help control the coagulation process, from start to finish. They are named in Roman Numerals from I to XIII (1 – 13), skipping VI (6)

The goal of blood coagulation is to seal up a wound with a strong blood clot. This involves many steps:

1. The damaged blood vessel releases two proteins called von Willebrand factor and collagen. These bind to 2 proteins on the surface of platelets, GPIb and GPVI (pronounced as G-P-1-B and G-P-6), a process that activates these platelets.
2. Now activated, the platelets release other important molecules that activate even more  platelets and coagulation factors. One of the molecules is thromboxane A2. It helps to activate more platelets, and eventually make the blood clot larger and stronger.
3. At the injured area, many platelets clump together to form a “platelet plug”, to physically block blood from flowing out.
4. By itself, a platelet plug is quite weak, and needs a tough, string-like protein called fibrin to become stronger. Through many steps, including platelet activation and different coagulation factors, fibrin strands become part of the platelet plug and strengthen it, thereby preventing blood loss.

So every time when you have a nosebleed, you should thank the amazing blood coagulation system for saving your life!