Haemoglobin concentration inside red cells
Biomarker library
Full Blood Count
MCHC
MCHC (mean cell haemoglobin concentration) is how densely haemoglobin is packed inside your red cells: the colour strength of each cell.
Measured in your health assessment, with a doctor to explain your result. Book yours
Why it matters
Unlike MCH, it allows for cell size, so it tells us whether haemoglobin is tightly or thinly packed. It is normally very stable, so a change often points to a specific cause.
What a result can mean
Lower than the range
Low MCHC, called hypochromia, usually reflects iron deficiency or thalassaemia trait, in which cells are paler than normal.
Higher than the range
A raised MCHC is uncommon. It can occur with hereditary spherocytosis (round, fragile red cells) or some kinds of red-cell breakdown, and it is sometimes a laboratory artefact from a clumped or damaged sample.
What can help
Like the other red-cell indices, MCHC returns to normal when the cause is treated, most often by restoring iron. An unexpected high value is usually repeated first to rule out a sample problem.
Read it with
NoteGeneral educational illustration. Colours, sizes and movement are simplified. This is not a scan or a simulation of your body. General information, not personal medical advice: a doctor reads your own results with your history.
Know your MCHC.
Measured in your health assessment and explained by the doctor who reviews your results.