Infertility Questions and Answers Related

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The parents have just received news that their infant has sickle cell disease. They ask the nurse if this could happen to future children. Because this is an example of an autosomal-recessive inheritance, what should the nurse tell Tim and Katie?

  • A. Because this child has sickle cell, there is a decreased chance none of your other children will have sickle cell disease.
  • B. Each time you get pregnant, there will be a 50/50 chance that your child will have sickle cell disease.
  • C. Each time you get pregnant, there will be a 25% chance that your child will inherit the gene from each parent and will have sickle cell disease.
  • D. Your next child will have a 50% chance of being a carrier for sickle cell disease.
Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C: Each time you get pregnant, there will be a 25% chance that your child will inherit the gene from each parent and will have sickle cell disease. This is because sickle cell disease follows an autosomal-recessive inheritance pattern, meaning both parents must pass on the sickle cell gene for a child to have the disease. With each pregnancy, there is a 25% chance that the child will inherit one sickle cell gene from each parent, resulting in the disease. Choices A and D are incorrect because they do not accurately reflect the inheritance pattern of sickle cell disease. Choice B is incorrect because it suggests a 50/50 chance, which is not the case with autosomal-recessive inheritance.