The parents of an infant diagnosed with sickle cell disease ask,"How did our child get this disease? Neither one of us has it." Which should the nurse consider when responding to the parents?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Sickle cell disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, meaning that for a child to have the disease, both parents must carry at least one copy of the mutated gene (have the sickle cell trait). If both parents have the trait, there is a 25% chance with each pregnancy that the child will inherit two copies of the mutated gene and have sickle cell disease.

The Parents of an Infant Diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease