Blood and lab tests
What Does MCH Mean on a Blood Test?
MCH · say it: M-C-HAlso written: mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin
Short answer
MCH is the average amount of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein, inside each red blood cell in your sample.
What it means
MCH stands for mean corpuscular hemoglobin, also called mean cell hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. MCH is the average weight of hemoglobin in a single red cell, measured in picograms, a tiny unit of weight.
The lab does not measure MCH directly. It is calculated from the hemoglobin level and the red cell count. It appears on a complete blood count (CBC) to help doctors understand what kind of change is happening when red cell results are unusual. Smaller cells often hold less hemoglobin, so MCH tends to move in the same direction as MCV.
MCH is easily mixed up with MCHC. MCH is the amount of hemoglobin per cell. MCHC is the concentration, meaning how packed with hemoglobin the cell is for its size. A small cell can have a low MCH but an MCHC inside the range.
Where you may see it
- The red cell indices section of a CBC, listed after MCV
- Patient portal results labeled "MCH (pg)"
- Doctor's notes and letters about anemia or iron levels
📄 How it looks on a report
MCH 25.8 pg L
🙅 What it does not mean
- A low MCH does not on its own mean iron deficiency. Inherited conditions such as thalassemia trait can produce the same pattern, which is why doctors look at other tests.
- MCH is not the same as your hemoglobin level. Your total hemoglobin can be inside its range while MCH is outside, or the other way round.
- A flagged MCH is rarely read alone. It usually echoes what the MCV already shows rather than adding a separate finding.
🗒️ Questions to ask your doctor
🧾 Reports where you will see “MCH”
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🔗 Read more from trusted sources
- “MCH” on MedlinePlus ↗
US National Library of Medicine
- MedlinePlus lab test guides ↗
US National Library of Medicine
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General information about a medical word, not advice about your own results. Ask the clinician who ordered the test what it means for you.