You have performed electrophoresis on a sample of normal hemoglobin (HbA), sickle-cell hemoglobin (HbS), a mixture containing HbA + HbS, and a sample of hemoglobin from a patient. The patient sample shows 2 bands, one at the same distance as the HbA band and one at the same distance as the HbS band. What is true about your patient?
A) The patient has sickle-cell anemia.
B) The patient has sickle-cell trait.
C) The patient has normal hemoglobin.
D) The answer cannot be determined from the data.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The presence of two bands, one corresponding to normal hemoglobin (HbA) and the other to sickle-cell hemoglobin (HbS), indicates that the patient has both types of hemoglobin. This is characteristic of sickle-cell trait, where individuals inherit one normal allele and one sickle-cell allele, leading to the production of both normal and abnormal hemoglobin.

You Have Performed Electrophoresis on a Sample of Normal Hemoglobin