Is Sickle Cell “Trait” the same thing as Sickle Cell Disease?
No. A person who inherits the sickle cell gene from one parent and the normal type of that gene from the other parent is said to have sickle cell trait. One in 12 African-Americans in this country has sickle cell trait. They are as healthy as non-carriers, rarely having any health problems related to the trait. Sickle cell trait cannot change to become sickle cell disease. However, when two people with sickle cell trait have a child, their child may inherit two sickle cell genes and have SS.
No. A person who inherits the sickle cell gene from one parent and the normal type of that gene from the other parent is said to have sickle cell trait. One in 12 African-Americans in this country has sickle cell trait.6 Carriers of the sickle cell gene generally are as healthy as noncarriers. Sickle cell trait cannot change to become sickle cell disease. However, when two people with sickle cell trait have a child, their child may inherit two sickle cell genes and have the disorder. What are the chances that parents with sickle cell trait will pass it on to their children? There is a 50 percent chance that a child born to parents who both carry a sickle cell gene will have the trait. There is a 25 percent chance that the child will have sickle cell disease. There also is a 25 percent chance that the child will have neither the trait nor the disease. These chances are the same in each pregnancy. If only one parent has the trait and the other has no abnormal hemoglobin gene, there is no
