Full Blood Count (Blood)

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Counties Manukau

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Full Blood Count (Blood)

Testing Laboratory

Counties Manukau | Middlemore Hospital

Department

Haematology

Delphic Registration Code (Alpha Code)

FBC

Test Code (Numeric Code)

1000

Laboratory Handling

Sample Stability

FBC analysis should occur within 6 hours of collection but may be processed up to 24 hours post collection if the sample is refrigerated at 4 degrees C.

Associated Tests

Synonyms

Complete Blood Count, CBC, FBC

Turnaround Time

1 hour

Available 24 hours

Specimen Type

Whole Blood

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

EDTA (Lavender Cap)

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

Paediatric Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

EDTA (Microtainer)
Please refer to Additional Information below

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

0.3

Minimum Sample Volume (ml)

0.2

Additional Specimen Information

For neonates minimum - 200 µL (but 300 µL needed if reticulocyte count required)

Diagnostic Use

The Full Blood Count is a routine haematology test that provides a comprehensive overview of blood cell health. It includes red blood cells (RBC), haemoglobin (Hb) and haematocrit (Hct), white bood cells (WBC), platelets (PLT), red cell indices (mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC); differential white cell count.

Interpretation

The full blood count consists of the following tests:

HB – Haemoglobin concentration	Reported in grams per litre	Measured photometrically
RBC – Red blood cell count (erythrocytes)	Reported in billion cells per litre	Measured by electrical impedance
HCT- Haematocrit (Packed cell volume)	Reported as a decimalised percentage i.e. 45% packed red cells reported as 0.45	Measured by electrical impedance.
MCV – Mean red cell volume	Reported in femtolitres (10^-15 of a litre)	Calculated parameter from the PCV and RBC
MCH – Mean cell haemoglobin	Reported in picograms (10^-12 of a gram)	Calculated parameter which represents the average amount of haemoglobin in each red cell
MCHC – Mean cell haemoglobin concentration	Not reported – used for internal quality control	Calculated parameter which represents the amount of haemoglobin in 1 litre of blood
RDW – Red cell distribution width	Reported as a coefficient of variation	Derived from the RBC histogram, the RDW is a measure of variability of red cell size
PLT – Platelet count	Reported in thousand million cells per litre	Measured by fluorescent laser flow cytometry
MPV – Mean platelet volume	Reported in femtolitres (10^-15 of a litre)	Measured by electrical impedance
WBC – White cell count (leucocytes)	Reported in thousand million cells per litre	Measured by laser flow cytometry
+/- Automated WBC differential (see below for reporting criteria)	Reported in thousand million cells per litre for each of the 5 white cell types plus immature granulocytes.	Measured by fluorescent laser flow cytometry
Nucleated red cells (see note below)	Reported in thousand million cells per litre	Measured by fluorescent laser flow cytometry

The full blood count results pass through a series of algorithms which look at the current results, analyser flags and previous results. If new results are found to be significantly abnormal or have changed significantly from previous results then a blood film is made.

Nucleated red cell counts are performed on all samples on the XN analysers and so will be reported if present. Other Sysmex analysers can perform nucleated red cell counts if requested or suspected by analyser flagging.

Reference Intervals

		CORD	1 DAY	2 DAYS	1 WEEK	2 WEEK	1 MONTH	2 MONTHS	4 MONTHS
RBC	x 10¹²/L	3.5 – 5.5	3.5 – 6.0	3.5 – 6.0	3.2 – 6.4	3.1 – 6.0	2.9 – 4.8	3.3 – 4.8	4.0 – 5.3
HB	g/L	124 – 192	145 – 225	152 – 228	135 – 215	125 – 205	93 – 158	97 – 130	105 – 136
HCT		0.37 – 0.56	0.45 – 0.67	0.45 – 0.67	0.42 – 0.66	0.40 – 0.72	0.27 – 0.46	0.29 – 0.38	0.31 – 0.40
MCV	fL	99 – 119	99 – 119	98 – 121	90 – 126	88 – 122	89 – 100	72 – 91	69 – 84
MCH	pg	32 – 39	31 – 37	30 – 38	28 – 40	28 – 40	28 – 34	24 – 32	22 – 29
MCHC		305 – 345	320 – 360	320 – 360	320 – 360	320 – 360	324 – 364	323 – 361	315 – 353
RDW		15.2 – 19.0	14.5 – 18.5	14.5 – 18.5	14.5 – 18.5	14.5 – 18.5	13.2 – 17.5	11.9 – 16.2	12.0 – 16.0
PLATS.	x 10⁹/L	150 – 400	150 – 400	150 – 400	150 – 400	150 – 400	150 – 650	150 – 650	150 – 575
MPV	fL	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2
WBC	x 10⁹/L	7.3 – 25.8	8.0 – 25.0	8.0 – 25.0	8.0 – 25.0	5.0 – 20.0	5.8 – 13.0	6.6 – 15.0	6.4 – 17.0
BAND N	x 10⁹/L	0.0 – 2.0	0.0 – 2.0	0.0 – 2.0	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6
NEUTS	x 10⁹/L	3.1 – 12.0	5.0 – 21.0	1.5 – 9.5	1.5 – 9.5	1.5 – 9.5	0.5 – 3.9	0.8 – 4.7	0.9 – 5.9
LYMPHS	x 10⁹/L	2.0 – 7.3	2.0 – 11.5	2.0 – 11.5	2.0 – 17.0	2.0 – 17.0	3.7 – 8.0	4.2 – 10.6	3.5 – 11.5
MONOS	x 10⁹/L	0.3 – 2.6	0.0 – 2.0	0.0 – 2.0	0.0 – 2.0	0.0 – 2.0	0.5 – 1.5	0.4 – 1.3	0.3 – 1.5
EOS	x 10⁹/L	0.0 – 1.2	0.0 – 1.0	0.0 – 1.0	0.0 – 0.7	0.0 – 0.7	0.0 – 0.9	0.0 – 0.9	0.0 – 0.9
BASOS	x 10⁹/L	0.0 – 0.3	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2
RETICS	x 10⁹/L	10 – 250	10 – 250	10 – 150	10 – 100	10 – 100	10 – 100		10 – 100

								10 – 100

		1 YEAR	4 YEARS	8 YEARS	13 YEARS	13 YEARS	ADULT MALE	ADULT FEMALE	PREGNANT

					MALE	FEMALE
RBC	x 10¹²/L	4.0 – 5.4	4.1 – 5.4	4.2 – 5.6	4.4 – 5.7	4.0 – 5.35	4.3 – 6.0	3.6 – 5.6	3.6 – 5.6
HB	g/L	105 – 140	113 – 145	115 – 145	125- 160	115- 150	130 – 175	115 – 155	115 – 155
HCT		0.32- 0.41	0.33- 0.42	0.35- 0.43	0.37- 0.47	0.35- 0.44	0.40 – 0.52	0.35 – 0.46	0.35 – 0.46
MCV	fL	70 – 86	74 – 87	75 – 90	78- 93	78 – 93	80 – 99	80 – 99	80 – 99
MCH	pg	23 – 29	24 – 29	24 – 30	25 – 31	25 – 31	27 – 33	27 – 33	27 – 33
MCHC		317 – 353	319 – 353	315 – 350	315 – 350	315 – 350	320 – 360	320 – 360	320 – 360
RDW		12.0 – 15.5	12.0 – 14.5	12.0 – 14.5	12.0 – 15.0	12.0 – 15.0	11.5 – 15.0	11.5 – 15.0	11.5 – 15.0
PLATS.	x 10⁹/L	150 – 500	150 – 475	150 – 425	150 – 400	150 – 400	150 – 400	150 – 400	150 – 400
MPV	fL	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2	9.0 – 12.2
WBC	x 10⁹/L	5.0 – 14.5	4.5 – 12.0	4.3 – 12.0	4.2 – 10.0	4.2 – 10.0	4.0 – 11.0	4.0 – 11.0	5.0 – 14.5
IMMATURE GRANs	x 10⁹/L	0 – 0.06	0 – 0.06	0 – 0.06	0 – 0.06	0 – 0.06	0 – 0.06	0 – 0.06	0 – 0.06

BAND N		0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6	0.0 – 0.6
NEUTS	x 10⁹/L	1.0 – 7.0	1.5 – 8.0	1.5 – 7.0	1.8 – 7.0	1.8 – 7.0	1.9 – 7.5	1.9 – 7.5	1.9 – 11.0
LYMPHS	x 10⁹/L	2.0 – 8.0	1.4 – 5.7	1.4 – 4.5	1.4 – 4.0	1.4- 4.0	1.0 – 4.0	1.0 – 4.0	1.0 – 4.0
MONO	x 10⁹/L	0.3 – 1.3	0.3 – 1.0	0.3- 0.9	0.3 – 0.9	0.3 – 0.9	0.2 – 1.0	0.2 – 1.0	0.2 – 1.0
EOS	x 10⁹/L	0.0 – 0.9	0.0 – 1.0	0.0 – 0.9	0.0 – 0.8	0.0 – 0.8	0.0 – 0.5	0.0 – 0.5	0.0 – 0.5
BASOS	x 10⁹/L	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2	0.0 – 0.2
RETICS	x 10⁹/L	10 – 100	10 – 100	10 – 100	10 – 100	10 – 100	10 – 100	10 – 100	10 – 100

Uncertainty of Measurement

See individual test components of the FBC for the UOM.

Last updated: 13/05/2026

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Testing Laboratory

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Test Code (Numeric Code)

Laboratory Handling

Sample Stability

Associated Tests

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Specimen Type

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

Paediatric Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

Minimum Sample Volume (ml)

Additional Specimen Information

Diagnostic Use

Interpretation

Reference Intervals

Uncertainty of Measurement

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Full Blood Count (Blood)

Overview

Testing Laboratory

Department

Delphic Registration Code (Alpha Code)

Test Code (Numeric Code)

Laboratory Handling

Sample Stability

Associated Tests

Synonyms

Turnaround Time

Specimen

Specimen Type

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

Paediatric Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

Minimum Sample Volume (ml)

Additional Specimen Information

Referral

Clinical Information/Test Method

Diagnostic Use

Interpretation

Reference Intervals

Uncertainty of Measurement

Additional Information

Contact Information

Contact Information

Enquiry Form

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