Contact your local SCDAA organization or other health

agency at:

Or contact the SCDAA National Office at the address and

telephone number below.

When one parent has E Trait (AE) and the other has

beta thalassemia trait

their baby

may have

WHAT SHOULD A PERSON WITH E TRAIT

DO?

In planning a family, it is wise for one to ask their partner to

be tested. The testing should include, at minimum, a

hemoglobin eletrophoresis and a mean corpuscular volume.

A counselor can tell you if any of your future children could

have a form of sickle cell disease.

Only if both partners are tested can they know exactly what

kind of hemoglobin their children could have. They should

look carefully at the inheritance pattern for the possibilities

of having a child with E/beta thalassemia.

Hemoglobin E Trait (AE)

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. 3700 Koppers Street, Suite 570

Baltimore, MD 21227

www.sicklecelldisease.org

©2018 Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc.; All rights reserved. No

portion of this material can be published without the owner’s express written

consent.

A E A

A A

A E

E

A

o

o

o

AA (normal hemoglobin) or

AE (hemoglobin E Trait) or

A (beta-zero thalassemia trait) or o

E (E/beta-zero thalassemia, a serious blood disease) o

It does not matter what their other babies have, their next

one has the same four possibilities: AA, AE, or A or E .o o

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Register at www.getconnectedscd.com

Inheritance Pattern for Hemoglobin E Trait

For more information

I want  to learn more...DOES HEMOGLOBIN E TRAIT EVER MAKE A

PERSON SICK?

No. Hemoglobin E trait, "E trait" for short, is not an illness. People with E trait are healthy.

YOU SAY E TRAIT IS NOT A PROBLEM. THEN

WHY ARE PEOPLE TESTED?

Babies are tested to see if they have a blood disease, such

as E/beta thalassemia or hemoglobin E disease, that could

make them become ill. Teens and adults are tested mainly

to see if they can have a baby with such a disease.

WHAT IS E/BETA THALASSEMIA?

E/beta thalassemia is a disease of red blood cells. People

with E/beta thalassemia do not make enough hemoglobin in

their red blood cells. This results in severe anemia, or low

blood count.

CAN HEMOGLOBIN E TRAIT EVER TURN INTO

E/BETA THALASSEMIA OR EE?

*Never. A person's hemoglobin types are his for life. They

do not change.

HEMOGLOBIN E TRAIT- WHAT DOES THAT

REALLY MEAN?

A person with hemoglobin E trait makes the usual

hemoglobin called A and another hemoglobin called E in his

red blood cells. Put the two together in a red blood cell and

you have hemoglobin E trait: A and E = AE.

HOW DOES A PERSON GET E TRAIT?

A person gets or inherits E trait the same way he got the

color of his eyes, the shape of his nose and the texture of his

hair. He got it through the genes that his mother and father

passed on to him. Genes also tell the body what kind of

blood to make.

WHAT EXACTLY IS HEMOGLOBIN?

WHAT 'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT

HEMOGLOBIN E?

A person with E trait, AE, does not have enough

hemoglobin E in his red blood cells to cause anemia.

HOW DOES A PERSON GET E/BETA

THALASSEMIA?

If a person gets one E gene from one parent and one beta thalassemia gene from the other parent, he would

have E/beta thalassemia:

*E trait is found equally in both males and females. To make this

easy to read, we have used he, his, and him in this pamphlet. In

other pamphlets we have used she and her.

Hemoglobin E acts differently than hemoglobin A. Red

blood cells with mostly hemoglobin E do not make

enough hemoglobin. This makes them a little smaller in

size than normal and also causes anemia, or low blood

count.

E/beta thalassemia is a serious condition. People who

have it need special medical care.

IF SOMEONE HAS E TRAIT, CAN HE HAVE A

CHILD WITH E/BETA THALASSEMIA OR EE??

Yes. He can, but only if his partner has beta thalassemia trait

or E trait.

He got an abnormal gene for hemoglobin E from one of his

parents and the normal genes for hemoglobin A from the

other.

WHY IS IT CALLED TRAIT?

Trait is a common word for a condition where a person gets

an abnormal gene from one parent and the normal type of

that gene from the other parent. If he gets the abnormal gene from both parents, he is said to have the disease.

Hemoglobin is inside the red blood cells. It helps them

carry oxygen from the air in our lungs to all parts of the

body. Hemoglobin also gives blood its deep red color.

CAN A PERSON GET TWO E GENES?

Yes. A person who gets one E gene from one parent and a

second E gene from the other has EE. This is not as

common as SC.

EE is not a serious condition. However, a person

with EE may need special medical care sometimes.

WHAT IS HEMOGLOBIN E DISEASE?

Also called EE, hemoglobin E disease is a disease of red

blood cells. People with EE make slightly less than normal

hemoglobin in their red blood cells. They have mild anemia.

Many Southeast Asians and Indians have E trait. It is common

in Asians. Less often, it is found in people of Middle Eastern,

Mediterranean or African descent.

E + beta thalassemia = E/beta thalassemia