How to prevent your children from having sickle cell disease?
One cannot prevent sickle cell anemia during natural conception. However, if parents go for IVF then it can be prevented to a certain extent.
Last updated on 19 May 2023
The symptoms of sickle cell anemia comprises of delayed growth, swelling on hands and feet, episodic pain, frequent infections and vision problems.
The five prominent symptoms are the sickle cells die easily, vision problems, pain crisis, swelling in hands and feet and delayed growth especially during puberty.
Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation in both copies of a person's HBB gene. This gene encodes a component of hemoglobin, the oxygen carrying protein in red blood cells. The mutation causes hemoglobin molecules to stick together, creating sickle-shaped red blood cells
The only way to find out if you are the carrier of sickle cell anemia is to get a simple blood test done. The blood test will tell you whether you have sickle cell gene or not.
People who have sickle cell anemia inherit two faulty hemoglobin genes, called hemoglobin S, one from each parent. A person has sickle cell trait when the hemoglobin S gene is inherited from only one parent and a normal hemoglobin gene hemoglobin A, is inherited from the other.
Hb Test, Hb
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