How Is Sickle Cell Anemia Diagnosed?

Early diagnosis of sickle cell anemia is very important so that children who have the condition can get proper treatment.

In the United States, 44 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands now test all newborns for sickle cell anemia. In the other six States, you can request a sickle cell test.

The test uses blood from the same blood samples used for other routine newborn screening tests. It can show whether the newborn infant has sickle cell anemia or sickle cell trait. If the first test shows some sickle hemoglobin, a second blood test is done to confirm the diagnosis.

The second blood test looks at how hemoglobin moves in an electric field, a process called electrophoresis (ee-LEK-tro-for-EE-sis). Sickle hemoglobin moves differently than normal hemoglobin. Electrophoresis is usually used to diagnose older children and adults.

It’s also possible to identify sickle cell anemia before birth. This is done using a sample of amniotic fluid or tissue taken from the placenta. (Amniotic fluid is the fluid in the sac surrounding a growing embryo. The placenta is the organ that attaches the umbilical cord to the mother’s womb.) This test can be done as early as the first few months of pregnancy. It identifies the sickle gene, rather than the hemoglobin it makes.