A 10-year-old male is diagnosed with sickle cell anemia. He most likely inherited it from:
A) his mother.
B) his father.
C) both his mother and father.
D) none of the above; sickle cell disease is not clearly an inherited disease.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disorder caused by a mutation in the HBB gene, which provides instructions to make a protein called beta-globin. This mutation is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, which means that the child must inherit two copies of the mutated gene (one from each parent) to develop sickle cell anemia. Therefore, both the mother and father must be carriers of the sickle cell gene for their child to inherit sickle cell anemia.

A 10-Year-Old Male Is Diagnosed with Sickle Cell Anemia