Who Is At Risk for Fanconi Anemia?
Fanconi anemia (FA) occurs in all racial and ethnic groups and affects men and women equally. In the United States and Europe, about 1 out of every 300 people is an FA carrier. This carrier rate leads to 1 in 360,000 people being born with FA. Two ethnic groups Ashkenazi Jews (Jews of Eastern European descent) and Afrikaners (people native to South Africa) are more likely than other groups to have FA or be FA carriers. In the United States, 1 out of 90 Ashkenazi Jews is a carrier, and 1 out of 30,000 is born with FA. In South Africa, Afrikaners have a carrier rate of 1 in 77, and 1 out of every 22,000 Afrikaners is born with FA.
