C ollege sports programs should test

those participants who do not

know their sickle cell trait status,

the National Collegiate Athletic

Association (NCAA) advises.

NCAA made the recommendation

in June 2009 as part of resolution of a

lawsuit by the family of a Rice

University football player who had sick-

le cell trait and died in 2006 shortly after

a practice. The condition contributed to

his death and was unknown prior to

that practice and subsequent testing.

Most of today’s college athletes

were born prior to programs offering

widespread screening for either sickle

cell disease or sickle cell trait. Currently,

state newborn screening programs pri-

marily aim to find full-blown disease

and do not always contact parents

whose infants have sickle cell trait.

Sickle cell trait differs from the

much more serious sickle cell disease.

The roughly 2.5 million Americans with

sickle cell trait—including 10% of

African Americans—only occasionally

experience health problems, including

blood in the urine and some blood

clumping at high altitudes. Sickle cell

trait puts athletes at risk for “exertional

sickling,” in which intense exercise caus-

es deformation of blood cells, decreas-

ing blood flow to muscles and causing

them to deteriorate rapidly.

The National Athletic Trainers

Association (NATA) has recorded 12

sports-related deaths from exertional

sickling, mostly among college football

players, since 2000.

NCAA’s statement is based on pre-

vious recommendations from both the

College of American Pathologists and

NATA. The organizations suggest edu-

cation for trainers and athletes with

sickle cell trait so they can learn to spot

sickling symptoms immediately. These

include fatigue, difficulty breathing,

and leg or low back pain or cramping.

Heat stress, dehydration, asthma, ill-

ness, and altitude predispose training

athletes with sickle trait to exertional

sickling, according to NATA.

Repetitive sprints or interval train-

ing induce high lactic acid levels and are

very risky for athletes with sickle cell

trait, NATA notes. It suggests that if

these athletes are unaccustomed to high

altitudes but must compete in such con-

ditions, extended recovery time and

supplemental oxygen be made available.

DOI 10.1002/ajmg.a.33281© 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

NEWS FLASHCOLLEGE ATHLETES SHOULD GET SICKLE CELLTRAIT TESTS, NCAA ADVISESMany athletes born prior to screening programs’ start

Volume x , Issue xxx

ix

Sickle cell trait putsathletes at risk for

“exertional sickling,”in which intenseexercise causes

deformation of bloodcells, decreasing

blood flow tomuscles and caus-ing them to deterio-

rate rapidly.

A paper in the Journal of GeneticCounseling [Schneider et al., 2009]makes specific suggestions for recruiting

more African Americans to the genetic coun-seling profession, noting that AfricanAmericans make up just over 12% of the USpopulation, but only 1% of the membershipof the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

Because patients often seek healthcarefrom providers who share similar ethnic back-grounds, training genetic counselors from adiversity of ethnicities is critica l, sayresearchers from the University of Cincinnati

in Ohio and Baptist Centers forCancer Care in Memphis,Tennessee.

Based on survey responsesfrom 552 psychology and biolo-gy students, the researchers rec-ommend overcoming barriers toprogram admission and enroll-ment, including lower gradepoint averages and incomes.They suggest altering programs’admission criteria to stress lead-ership activities and interviewsover grades and standardizedtest scores, better publicizingscholarships and other financialaid, and stressin g the waysgenetic counselors can help oth-

ers and give back to their communities.Recruitment materials should note variedsalaries according to experience, specialty,and work setting, as well as opportunitiesthat feature flexible work schedules.

Also important is making AfricanAmerican students aware of the genetic coun-seling profession before college. AfricanAmerican high school students should getopportunities to both learn about the profes-sion and meet genetic counselors, theresearchers recommend.

ReferenceSchneider KW, Collins R, Huether C, Warren NS.

2009. A cross sectional study exploring factorsimpacting recruitment of African American col-lege students into the genetic counseling profes-sion. J Genet Couns 18:494–506.

DOI 10.1002/ajmg.a.33282© 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

MORE AFRICAN AMERICANGENETIC COUNSELORSNEEDED

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