NICE - pregnancy screening guidance for thalassaemia and sickle cell disease
Last edited 07/2018
Screening for haemoglobinopathies
- screening for sickle cell diseases and thalassaemias should be offered to
all women as early as possible in pregnancy (ideally by 10 weeks). The type
of screening depends upon the prevalence and can be carried out in either
primary or secondary care
- where prevalence of sickle cell disease is low (fetal prevalence 1.5 cases
per 10,000 pregnancies or below), all pregnant women should be offered screening
for haemoglobinopathies using the Family Origin Questionnaire:
- if the Family Origin Questionnaire indicates a high risk of sickle
cell disorders, laboratory screening (preferably high-performance liquid
chromatography) should be offered
- if the mean corpuscular haemoglobin is below 27 picograms, laboratory screening (preferably high-performance liquid chromatography) should be offered
- if the Family Origin Questionnaire indicates a high risk of sickle
cell disorders, laboratory screening (preferably high-performance liquid
chromatography) should be offered
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