6 week old newborn screening postive for sickle cell

I have a 6 week old baby girl. I just got a phone call from the hospital she was born at and they said she got an abnormal blood result shortly after birth which they said tested her postive for sickle cell.
Me or my husband neither one have any family history of this and to our knowledge neither of us have sickle cell.

Does any one know any thing reguarding a situation like this we took her yesterday to get retested and are waiting on the results until monday and my mind is going crazy.

some one please help!

[mgi]

you can't have sickle cell and not know

BUT you can be a carrier for sickle cell and not know.
Is your child a carrier or do they have sickle cell?

a carrier doesn't effect them much - if tehy have it - surely your health care provider will educate you on what to expect

[browneyze]

Yeah im not sure which one she has find out more on monday but just trying to get as much info in as i can before to help soothe my soul. so if I DO have the trait and have not known all this time, what is the chances that she has it? Every thing that i have read comes back to say it is mostly in african americans, I am white and my husband is filipino (asian).

[browneyze]

Yeah im not sure which one she has find out more on monday but just trying to get as much info in as i can before to help soothe my soul. so if I DO have the trait and have not known all this time, what is the chances that she has it? Every thing that i have read comes back to say it is mostly in african americans, I am white and my husband is filipino (asian).

[AnnieBrooke]

First, see what the second test says.  I would never believe just one test on something serious.  What if the lab mixed results up or just read things wrong?

Second, learn if she is a carrier or actually has it.  If you don't have it and your husband doesn't, maybe (I don't know this) it means it is more likely she is just a carrier.

Did you happen by any chance to bank cord blood when she was born?

[browneyze]

No i didnt bank cord blood when she was born.
Yes im keeping my fingers crossed that it was only a mix up on the lab's part.

[browneyze]

Well hopefully that is what it is.....only a carrier if anything at all.
If any one has any additional information i would gladly love to hear it.

Thank Each and every one of you for your help.
God Bless You!

[who_is_this]

The test will have to be repeated, as are all positive testing results obtained via newborn screening.  There is some small possibility that it was a false positive, or some other type of hemoglobinopathy.  

The incidence of sickle cell disease is 1 in approx 50,000-60,000 caucasions, 1 in 1000-1400 Hispanics, and 1 in 11,500 Asians.
The trait incidence is far more common, so it is possible that both you and your husband might carry the trait, and thus your chold could be affected.  1 in every 412 caucasions carry the trait!  

Hopefully, yours will turn out to be a false positive.  Keep us updated.

[mgi]

in order for her to have it
BOTH you and your husband would have to be carriers and still it would be only by chance

having said that it is highly unlikely that both you and hubby are carriers and not know it

so PERHAPS one of you is a carrier and she is also a carrier

[browneyze]

What are the odds that me and my hubby would have sickle cell trait ( both of us) and not know it. Is this something that should have been detected on me during my pregnancy with all the blood work going on.


What would be the likely hood that she would get sickle cell if say only one of us have sickle cell trait?

[mgi]

yes that is basic genetics
that is why if both she and her hubby do not have it (they can't and not know it!!)  then the odds are so very slim in the baby having it!  almost miniscule

do you remmember punnet squares?  drawing one out would show you what you wrote above!

[first time mama]

I found this for you......

If one parent has Sickle Cell Anemia and the other is Normal, all of the children will have sickle cell trait.

If one parent has Sickle Cell Anemia and the other has Sickle Cell Trait, there is a 50% chance (or 1 out of 2) of having a baby with either sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait with each pregnancy.

When both parents have Sickle Cell Trait, they have a 25% chance (1 of 4) of having a baby with sickle cell disease with each pregnancy.

[first time mama]

Yes, I know all about genetics, I have taken several genetic courses.  I was just trying to make it easy to be understood!

[mgi]

teh chances of both you and hubby being carriers and not knowing it are one in a million or less!   However, probably would not have been tested for it with any bloodwork.  They do a karyotype to test for it (which isn't routine)  BUT generally if you are a carrier - you have some weird symptom in life and you go to a doc and they discover you are a carrier!

IF ONLY one of you are a carrier there is ZERO chance of your baby having sickle cell - she can only be a carrier
hope this helps

[who_is_this]

Caucasions each have a 1 in 412 chance of having the trait.  They would not necessarily know it.  Hispanics and Asians have a higher incidence of carrying the trait since they have a higher incidence of having the disease.  So I don't know if they only have a one in a million chance of not being aware they are carriers but I am not the mathemetician you are, for sure.  

Not likely, but again, the test will have to be repeated and verified.  Hopefully it was one of those uncommon false positives, or it is another, milder blood disorder.

[browneyze]

So basically it seems slim to none that she would have full blown sickle cell disease.based on studies.

hopefully all will go well tommorow with her new results, again thank you all for you help.will keep posted

[amli]

I would like to know what came about with your case. Did your child have sickle cell disease or a trait? Did both you and your husband have the trait? I am asking this because my son was recently diagnosed with the disease. I have the trait but my husband does not have anything. Many people would say it is impossible then for my son to have the disease only the trait and yes my husband is the father of the child. Please inform me would came about in your case.

[sweets307]

if both parents have the disease then the child would most likely have it also. if one parent has the trait then the child would have the trait. like me my father had the disease and passed away at 35. i have the trait and now my dd has the trait.