In the last six years, a remarkable series of stUdies have demonstrated an intimate relationship between red cell metabolism and the function of the cell as an organ of gas transport. First came the demonstration of binding of organic phosphocompounds of the red cell to hemoglobin; this was followed by studies that demonstrated modification of hemoglobin oxygen affinity by such binding. At present we are in an exhilirating phase of accrual of data showing that the levels of these phosphorylated inter mediates can be rapidly altered in the red cell to modulate hemo globin function. At one time it was said that the red cell was an inert bag full of hemoglobin. Now we know not only that the cell has an active metabolism crucial to its viability, but that this metabolism is just as crucial to the whole organism in the proper adjustment of oxygen transport. On October first, second and third, 1969, red cell biochemists, general biochemists, geneticists, cardio-pulmonary physiologists, exercise physiologists, experts in blood storage, and represen tatives from many other disciplines met in the Towsley Center for Continuing Medical Education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, to present recent findings and discuss developments in this new interdisciplinary field. The meeting was dedicated to Dr. Alfred Chanutin, Professor Emeritus of the University of Virginia, to honor his retirement in 1967 and in recognition of his great contributions to the studies outlined in the first paragraph of this preface.

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I. Relationship Between Red Cell Metabolism and Function.- Session 1 A. Chanutin, Chairman.- Binding of Organic Phosphates to Hemoglobin A and Hemoglobin F.- Effect of Glutathione and Some Other Substances on the Oxygen Dissociation Curve of Hemoglobin and Experimental Therapy of Hemmorrhagic Shock with Solutions Enriched with Glutathione.- Variation in 2, 3-Diphosphoglycerate and ATP Levels in Human Erythrocytes and Effects on Oxygen Transport.- Binding of 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate (DPG) to Oxyhemoglobin; Levels and Effect of DPG on Oxygen Affinity of Normal and Abnormal Blood.- Session 2 C.-H. deVerdier, Chairman.- Dependence of Oxyhemoglobin Dissociation and Intraerythrocytic 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate on Acid-Base Status of Blood I. In vitro Studies of Reduced and Oxygenated Blood.- II. Clinical and Experimental Studies.- Erythrocyte Glycolytic Intermediates and Cofactors Correlated with the Haemoglobin Concentration in Human Neonates and Adults.- Studies of Red Cell Glycolysis and Interactions with Carbon Monoxide, Smoking, and Altitude.- II. Metabolic Control Mechanisms in the Red Cell.- Session 3 A. Chanutin, Chairman.- General Features of Metabolic Control as Applied to the Erythrocyte.- The Enzymes 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate Metabolism in the Human Red Cell.- Metabolism of 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate in Red Blood Cells Under Various Experimental Conditions.- III. Interaction of the Cardiac, Pulmonary, and Erythrocyte Systems in Respiratory Homeostasis.- Session 4 R. Grover, Chairman.- The Respiratory Function of the Blood.- Systemic Oxygen Transport.- Adaptation to Hypoxia.- Adaptation of the Red Blood Cell to Muscular Exercise.- A Comparison of Mechanisms of Oxygen Transport Among Several Mammalian Species.- IV. Erythrocyte Function after Blood Storage.-Session 5 G. Bartlett, Chairman.- Patterns of Phosphate Compounds in Red Blood Cells of Man and Animals.- Biological Alterations Occurring During Red Cell Preservation.- The Prediction of Poststorage Red Cell Viability from ATP Levels.- Application of a Mechanized Method for the Determination of Different Glycolytic Intermediates in the Routine Quality Control of Red Cells.- Red Cell 2,3-DPG, ATP, and Creatine Levels in Preserved Cells and in Patients with Red Cell Mass Deficits or with Cardiopulmonary Insufficiency.- The Hemoglobin Function of Blood Stored at 4°C.- Appendix Discussion of Papers in Order of Presentation.