Empeiria

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration

Also known as MCHC

derived index · no single molecular formula

LOINC 786-4 code verified whole_blood g/dL

What this substance is

An arithmetic result, not a substance: how concentrated haemoglobin is inside red cells.
How it is calculated

MCHC (g/dL) = haemoglobin (g/dL) x 100 / haematocrit (%)

Derived from hemoglobin, hematocrit.

Reference ranges

Checking your own result against this range needs the running application; this is a static copy. Nothing you type anywhere in Empeiria is ever sent to a server.

This open edition shows a range only where a public-domain or openly licensed source states one, and none does for this marker yet. Compare your result with the range printed on your own lab report.

How it is measured

In practice

MCHC comes from the same blood sample as a complete blood count, taken from a vein. It is not a separate test. The lab machine works it out from other results in that count. No special preparation is needed.

MCHC is a calculated red cell index reported with the CBC on the same K2 EDTA whole-blood sample; the analyser computes it from haemoglobin, RBC count and MCV, so interferences on those inputs carry through. No special preparation is required.

Where: laboratory

Sources: NHANES 2019-2020 Laboratory Procedure Manual: Complete Blood Count (Coulter DxH 800), CDC/NCHS; RBC indices -- MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, U.S. National Library of Medicine cited · not yet checked by a person

In the lab

calculation

Calculated from haemoglobin and hematocrit

MCHC tells how packed with hemoglobin the red cells are. It is worked out by dividing the hemoglobin by the hematocrit.

Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration is calculated as MCHC (g/L) = HGB (g/L) / HCT (L/L); the reference approach uses spectrophotometric haemoglobin and spun hematocrit, and some analysers measure it optically instead.

  • Read by: None directly on impedance analysers; derived from haemoglobin and hematocrit

What can throw it off

  • Haemolysed, icteric or lipaemic plasma (falsely high haemoglobin)
  • Underfilled EDTA tube (red cell shrinkage)
  • Abnormal plasma sodium
Why labs disagree: Depending on the analyser, MCHC is either measured directly or calculated from haemoglobin and hematocrit, so a calculated MCHC inherits differences in both inputs, and plasma sodium effects on MCHC cannot be removed by current technologies. MCHC intervals also show differences between the sexes in at least one reference-interval study.

Sources: Girard S et al. Breaking Free From MCHC Interferences? French-Speaking Cellular Haematology Group (GFHC) Review of Causes, Rising Trends and Practical Solutions. Int J Lab Hematol 2025 (PMC12426809, open access); Haq MA et al. Defining Reference Intervals for Complete Blood Count and Micronutrient Parameters in Urban Bangladeshi Population. Biomolecules 2026 (PMC13406479, open access) cited · not yet checked by a person

What it reports on

Associated symptoms

Conditions this marker features in

Ordered as part of

cbc