diff --git a/qemu-option.c b/qemu-option.c
index 1f8f41a..e380fc1 100644
--- a/qemu-option.c
+++ b/qemu-option.c
@@ -416,20 +416,13 @@
     char value[256];
     char *param_delim, *value_delim;
     char next_delim;
-    size_t num_options;
 
     if (list == NULL) {
         return NULL;
     }
 
     if (dest == NULL) {
-        // Count valid options
-        num_options = count_option_parameters(list);
-
-        // Create a copy of the option list to fill in values
-        dest = qemu_mallocz((num_options + 1) * sizeof(QEMUOptionParameter));
-        allocated = dest;
-        memcpy(dest, list, (num_options + 1) * sizeof(QEMUOptionParameter));
+        dest = allocated = append_option_parameters(NULL, list);
     }
 
     while (*param) {