Knowing Your Sickle Cell Status

CDC uses “sickle cell status” for the answer to a specific question: does a person have sickle cell disease, sickle cell trait, or neither? The fact sheet is direct about how that answer is found. Blood tests have to be done. Feeling well is not a result. A family story, however important, is not a result either.

WHO and CDC both describe diagnosis as a blood test that looks for the abnormal haemoglobin. CDC says that in children born in the United States, the condition is most often found through newborn screening, and that further tests can be used. The name of the test and the way results are reported can differ by laboratory and by country. A clinician is the person who should interpret a report.

CDC says getting screened matters a great deal for people at an age when they may have children, because the genes can be passed on. Knowing your own status, and a partner’s, is what makes an informed conversation about that possibility possible. If both people have trait, CDC’s trait page sets out a 1 in 4 chance that a child will have sickle cell disease, a 1 in 2 chance of trait, and a 1 in 4 chance of neither. If a partner has the disease or another haemoglobin change, the implications are different, and they need a professional explanation.

There is a second reason, and it is about care rather than family planning. CDC says newborns should be screened even when they look healthy. If sickle cell disease is not found and treated, it can lead to severe health problems and even death early in childhood. That is an argument for screening programmes and for follow-up, not a prediction about any one child. Adults who do not know their status, including people who missed newborn screening or who were born where it was not offered, can ask about a test.

CDC’s fact sheet describes newborn screening in the United States. Babies should be screened as early as 24 to 48 hours after birth. All 50 states and the District of Columbia include sickle cell status in newborn screening. CDC also says a positive screen means a condition is likely and that the baby’s doctor needs to arrange more testing to be sure. Infants born in the United States after 2006 should have newborn screening information in the medical record, and a parent can ask the child’s physician about it.

That is a description of one health system. It is not a map of every country. WHO stresses early diagnosis because it helps prevent complications, without setting out a single worldwide programme on the fact sheet used here. If you are outside the United States, or you are unsure what was done when you or your child was born, ask a local clinic or a qualified healthcare professional. Samaa Charity Projects does not run screening, store results, or book appointments.

A result is information, not a set of instructions from this website. People with trait are usually well and can pass the gene on. People with sickle cell disease need medical care that this organisation does not provide. CDC suggests talking with a doctor or health clinic about testing if you may be at risk, and asking a physician, a local clinic, or a community sickle cell organisation where testing is available near you. Which of those exists depends on where you live.

Please do not send symptoms, test results, or another person’s medical details through the contact form. Use it for questions about the organisation. Use a health service for questions about a body. The pages linked below are the ones this article was checked against on the review date.