Sickle cell trait

Sickle cell trait happens in people who get the sickle cell gene from 1 parent and the normal gene from the other parent. Sickle cell anemia happens in people who get the sickle cell gene from both parents. The gene affects a protein called hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood. Other types of sickle cell disease can happen in people who get 1 sickle cell gene plus another abnormal hemoglobin gene.