You are genetic counselor, and a couple comes to you with concerns that if they have a child together, he or she could have sickle-cell anemia. Genetic tests reveal that both the man and woman are carriers for sickle-cell anemia. How should you advise them?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Sickle-cell anemia is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. When both parents are carriers (heterozygous for the sickle-cell allele), their children have a 25% chance of inheriting two sickle-cell alleles (one from each parent) and having sickle-cell anemia, a 50% chance of being carriers like their parents (inheriting one sickle-cell allele and one normal allele), and a 25% chance of inheriting two normal alleles.

You Are Genetic Counselor, and a Couple Comes to You