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?
A) The father is not the biologic father of the infant.
B) The mother of the child has the trait, but the father does not.
C) The father of the child has the trait, but the mother does not.
D) The mother and the father of the child have the sickle-cell trait.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Sickle-cell disease is an autosomal recessive disorder, which means that the child must inherit two copies of the gene, one from each parent, to have the disease. Both parents are carriers of the sickle-cell trait, which is why their child has sickle-cell disease.

The Parents of an Infant Diagnosed with Sickle-Cell Disease Ask