Neonatal Screening for Sickle Cell Disease in Southwest Iran

the risk of sickle cell complications that is a common hemoglobin disorder in Southwest Iran. This study aimed at determining the incidence of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and other Hemoglobinopathies in newborn being at risk based on ethnic origin. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive epidemiologic  study, between September 2013 and September 2015, 8363 newborn blood samples were tested in four maternity units from Ahvaz, Khoramshahr, Sosangerd and Dezful. Complete cell count and cellulose acetate electrophoresis at pH 8.4 were performed on each blood sample. Parent's clinical status was also checked for more information. Presence of an abnormal band in the EDTA treated samples were further confirmed by citrate agar gel electrophoresis and automated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results were analyzed statistically by the One-Way ANOVA analysis. Results: Among 8363 screened samples, 118 (1.41 %) samples were heterozygous for Hb S, and four (0.047%) for Hb C; none of newborns were Hb SS homozygotes. The incidence of silent and alpha thalassemia minor based on RBC indices was nearly 10%. Conclusion: Present findings indicated the high quality and considerable impact of conducted screening program starting in 2007 at significantly decreasing the prevalence of SCD among newborns born between 2013 and 2015. The results also showed that the neonatal screening for SCD was not weighed to add as a new program in national health network.