RED-CELL AGE BY FLOW-CYTOMETRY

A method is presented for the use of red cell markers to assess the ag e of red cells in clinical samples. The reticulocyte count and its var iants are already in clinical use to measure the number of young circu lating red cells, but tools have not been put into place for studying the overall distribution of red cell age. These data could be of signi ficant value, not merely for hematologic investigations, but as a part of infectious disease, renal, and toxicologic studies.