Sickle Cell Trait

Sickle Cell Trait Info Sheet I Video

Effective Aug. 1, 2013 the NCAA will require that Chapman University and other Division III member institutions  confirm the sickle cell trait status of student-athletes before participation in intercollegiate athletics. This information will only need to be submitted once and a positive status will not exclude you from athletic participation. The decision to require student-athletes to confirm their sickle cell trait status was based on a combination of circumstances: student-athlete deaths; best practices in some branches of the military; an Inter-Association consensus recommendation; a recommendation in the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook; a March 2012 Roundtable sponsored by the NCAA and the American College of Sports Medicine that included leading experts on sickle cell trait in athletes; and considerable discussion within the NCAA and with outside sport organizations. Attached is an information sheet developed by the NCAA to educate student athletes and their parents as well as to answer frequently asked questions, please take a few minutes to review this information.

Student athletes have three (3) options to provide confirmation of their sickle cell trait status:

Documentation (recommended): The student-athlete may provide documented results of a sickle cell solubility test administered before participation;

The California Newborn Screening Program (NBS) has been screening all newborns for sickle cell disease since February 27,1990. The testing also detects healthy babies with sickle cell trait and some other hemoglobin traits. If you were born in California after that date, you can request a copy of your results from the NBS Program, your pediatrician, or the hospital where you were born. For more information go to http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/nbs/Pages/NBSFAQTraitAthletes.aspx

Attached you will find a link to the NBS test result request form. Fill it out completely and print it. If you are over 18, your parents cannot request your results for you; you must sign the request form yourself. Please make sure you have included your mother’s last name at the time you were born, to help us locate the record. Also include telephone numbers where you can be reached if there are questions.  Then fax the form to NBS. Please do not send your request more than once. To verify that your request was received, please send an email to: NBSresults@cdph.ca.gov.

Other states may have similar programs. Please check with your state government or pediatrician for more information.

Pending documentation: A student-athlete who has taken a sickle cell solubility test but whose results are not yet confirmed may participate provided the student-athlete engages in mandatory education*, signs a waiver and receives appropriate precautions as set forth by the institution.

Opt-out (not recommended): The student-athlete may sign a waiver declining confirmation of sickle cell trait status. Before signing a waiver, the student-athlete shall be provided education regarding the implications of exercising the waiver option. Before athletics participation, a student-athlete who signs a waiver under this provision shall engage in mandatory education* regarding sickle cell trait status and receive accommodations as determined by the institution.

*mandatory education – student athletes whose status is pending or who choose to opt-out will be required to meet with a member of the athletic training staff for an educational session prior to receiving a waiver form. All new and returning student athletes are encouraged to secure test results and provide them to the athletic training staff prior to August 1, 2013.