anyone have sickle cell trait?

CP0979

i just got my blood work results and i tested positive for sickle cell trait. my ob said that is very odd as there is a 1 in 100,000 chance that caucasians get this. its mostly prevalent in african americans. im so lucky!

So basically, it doesnt appear i have sickle cell disease, just the trait, which means i can pass it on to the baby. he did say that my husband should get tested though. if we both have it, then the baby has a good chance of getting the actual disease. he did say that for two caucasians to have it would be like 1 in a million chance. so i guess im not that worried. im getting retested first to make sure its not a lab mix up. if positive again, ill have my DH go.

I was just wondering if happened to anyone else or someone you might know?

craig10

After my daughter was born, something came back on her newborn screening showing she had the sickle cell trait.  My husband and I went and got tested and he was the one that carried the trait and it was passed down to her.  His brother also has the trait and passed it along to his son.  The doctor said it was nothing to be concerned about.  He said the only way it would present a problem would be if she would have a baby with someone who had the exact same sickle cell trait that she did, then it could cause problems with their baby.  The chances of her having a baby with someone who carries the same trait is extremely rare.  My husband is a caucasian male too. 

alikat07

I have the beta thalessemia trait which is a similar blood disorder to sickle cell anemia, but is common for people of southern European ancestry (Greek and Italian) - and it is nicknamed Mediterranean anemia.  Luckily DH does not have this disorder, and its unlikely yours has sickle cell.

For my trait I have a 50% chance of passing on the trait to the baby.  If two parents have the trait there is a 25% chance the baby will have the actual disease.

Have you been tested as anemic before?  It should always show up on a Complete Blood Count test, which is pretty routinely given.  One important thing - if your doctor tries to get you to take iron supplements ask to have your iron levels tested because taking the iron supplements won't help unless you are also iron-deficient and will probably just cause you discomfort.  Iron supplements cannot help genetic anemia.

Amy&Anthony

its probably more common than you think;  when I went for my testing they gave me the opposite testing me for CF (I am African American) because now they are tossing out the ethnic profiling elements and testing us all for everything  no one can  truly say they are all one group or another so it stands to reason that you could be a carrier. probably nothing to worry about even if the test is correct.

 

CP0979

Amy&Anthony:

its probably more common than you think;  when I went for my testing they gave me the opposite testing me for CF (I am African American) because now they are tossing out the ethnic profiling elements and testing us all for everything  no one can  truly say they are all one group or another so it stands to reason that you could be a carrier. probably nothing to worry about even if the test is correct.

 

I was googling today to learn more and it did also say common in hispanics of carribean decent. My mom is puerto rican, mexican and cuban so maybe that is where it came from. My dad is italian too but i am pretty damn white considering the mix so hispanic may have never crossed his mind.

 

Ps - Your siggy pic is too adorable! 

CP0979

alikat07:

I have the beta thalessemia trait which is a similar blood disorder to sickle cell anemia, but is common for people of southern European ancestry (Greek and Italian) - and it is nicknamed Mediterranean anemia.  Luckily DH does not have this disorder, and its unlikely yours has sickle cell.

For my trait I have a 50% chance of passing on the trait to the baby.  If two parents have the trait there is a 25% chance the baby will have the actual disease.

Have you been tested as anemic before?  It should always show up on a Complete Blood Count test, which is pretty routinely given.  One important thing - if your doctor tries to get you to take iron supplements ask to have your iron levels tested because taking the iron supplements won't help unless you are also iron-deficient and will probably just cause you discomfort.  Iron supplements cannot help genetic anemia.

 Years ago when I went to give blood they said I was borderline anemic. However the test showed no signs of anemia this time, so he is assuming I just have the trait not the disease. But thanks for the advice!