Blood health
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH)
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Compare membershipsHow much hemoglobin each red cell carries.
MCH is the average amount of hemoglobin inside each of your red blood cells. It's calculated from your hemoglobin and red cell count, and it helps describe what kind of anemia, if any, may be present.
MCH usually tells the same story as MCV.
Bigger cells hold more hemoglobin, so MCH tends to rise and fall with MCV. Clinicians usually read the two side by side.
A low MCH usually goes with small, paler red cells, a pattern seen with iron deficiency and thalassemia trait. A high MCH usually goes with large cells, a pattern seen with low vitamin B12 or folate.
MCV is the size of the container. MCH is how much it holds.
Questions
What can lower MCH?
Iron deficiency is a common cause. Inherited hemoglobin differences such as thalassemia trait can also lower it, and long-term inflammatory conditions or kidney disease sometimes do too. Your ferritin and iron results help a clinician sort out which is likely.
What's the difference between MCH and MCHC?
MCH is the amount of hemoglobin in an average red cell. MCHC is how concentrated that hemoglobin is once the cell's size is taken into account. Both are usually read together with MCV.