MCH optimal range and reference range

Compiled by Alina Radu, founder of Sera, from the published sources below · Last reviewed November 9, 2026

Sera's bands for MCH:

  • Optimal 28 – 32 pg; sufficient 27 – 33 pg; out of range below 27 or above 33 pg.

Evidence grade: Published reference interval. A band that primarily reflects a published adult laboratory or population reference interval. It is not necessarily applicable to every assay or laboratory.

All units

UnitOptimalSufficientOut of range
pg28 – 3227 – 33below 27 or above 33

What the evidence says

The acceptable band of 27 to 33 pg is a published adult reference interval; some laboratories end it at 32. MCH moves with MCV: low values go with small, pale cells (iron deficiency, thalassaemia trait), high values with large cells. The optimal band of 28 to 32 pg has no published source behind it.

Sources

  • RBC indices — U.S. National Library of Medicine (MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia), 2026 · Government / public-health guidanceNormal MCH is 27 to 33 pg per cell in men and 26 to 33 in women (reviewed February 2026). The men's figure is Sera's sufficient band exactly.
  • Full Blood Count (Haematology) — Liverpool Clinical Laboratories, Royal Liverpool University Hospital (NHS), 2013 · Laboratory / reference-interval sourceMean cell haemoglobin 27 to 33 pg for both sexes, Sera's sufficient band exactly. The page is undated; it is the laboratory's current page and says these ranges replaced the ones used before 2 April 2013.
  • CBC blood test — U.S. National Library of Medicine (MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia), 2024 · Government / public-health guidanceA second MedlinePlus page gives 27 to 32 pg per cell. Same lower limit; upper limit 1 pg below Sera's.
  • Haematology reference ranges — Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 2026 · Laboratory / reference-interval sourceAdult mean cell haemoglobin 27 to 32 pg.

What Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) measures

The average amount of hemoglobin in each red blood cell.

Low MCH with low MCV points to iron deficiency. High MCH with high MCV points to low B12 or folate.

Related blood cell health markers

See MCH in the full list of biomarker ranges

About the author

Alina Radu is the founder of Sera and a software engineer. The idea started with her own Hashimoto's tests, scattered across years without the big picture. She is not a clinician: these ranges are compiled from the published sources linked on each page, with every source named. Alina Radu on LinkedIn

This page is a reference for practitioners, not medical advice. Sera's bands are practitioner targets for structured review, not diagnostic thresholds, and Sera does not diagnose or recommend treatment. Read a result alongside the interval printed by the issuing laboratory and the client's history and symptoms. Range set: Sera Production, version 1.0, last reviewed November 9, 2026.