Abstract: Red blood cells from a vertebrate are treated to make them effective components of a hematology control, allowing the control to be used for detecting all blood cell components, including white blood cells and platelets. The treatment includes the use of a fixative under limited conditions of concentration and exposure time, and the resulting red blood cells are stable but lysable in a hematology instrument and have a reduced tendency to form particulates.

Abstract: Erythrocytes from a vertebrate animal other than a human that have been size reduced and treated with a fixing agent by conventional methods to resemble human platelets are further treated to achieve a size distribution that is detected in a consistent manner by different methodologies of blood cell counting. The further treatment includes heating to a denaturing temperature followed by a second treatment with a fixing agent. The resulting cells are useful as controls for calibrating and checking the accuracy of automated blood cell counting equipment.